Gap to Launch Checkout Within Google’s Gemini AI Platform

Gap is partnering with Google's Gemini to allow shoppers to check out directly within the AI platform, making it the first major fashion company to work directly with the tech company to fuel agentic commerce, CNBC has learned exclusively. The partnership comes as an increasing number of shoppers move away from traditional search and toward artificial intelligence platforms for product discovery, forcing retailers to rethink their approach to marketing to ensure they’re staying competitive and not missing out on customer demand.

Total Retail's Take: Gap’s partnership with Google Gemini signals the the trend toward “agentic” commerce, where product discovery and checkout happen within AI platforms and not retailers' websites. Gap is leaning into agentic commerce with the hopes of capturing an early-mover advantage in reaching and converting high-intent shoppers. However, agentic commerce also introduces trade-offs around customer data ownership and increased reliance on external platforms. Success in this arena will depend heavily on how well Gap structures its product data and integrates with AI systems to ensure its products are surfaced and recommended based upon users' prompts.

For the broader retail industry, this marks a transition from search-based to intent-driven shopping, with AI acting as the primary gatekeeper of demand. Retailers may see less traffic to their own sites as transactions increasingly occur within AI ecosystems, shifting competition toward being selected by AI agents rather than winning Google's search rankings or in-store shelf space. Therefore, retailers will need to rethink marketing, data, merchandising and measurement strategies to stay visible and competitive in an AI shopping environment.