fashion

Google has rolled out a new AI-powered shopping feature to help you figure out what the clothes you are interested in buying might look like when you wear them. It’s dubbed “try it on” and it’s available right now in the US through Google Search Labs.

To get started, you just need to switch it on in the lab. Then, you upload a full-length photo of yourself and start looking for clothes in the Google Shopping tab.

When you click on an image of some outfit from the search results, you’ll see a little “try it on” button in the middle of the enlarged version of the outfit in the right-hand panel. One click and about ten seconds later, you’ll see yourself wearing the outfit. It may not always be a perfect illusion, but you’ll at least get a sense of what it would look like on you.

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Google claims the whole thing runs on a model trained to see the relationship between your body and clothing. The AI can, therefore, realistically drape, stretch, and bunch material across a variety of body types.

The feature doesn’t work with every piece of clothing you might see, or even every type of outfit. The clothing retailer has to opt into the program, and Google said it only works for shirts, pants, dresses, and skirts.

I did notice that costumes and swimwear both had no usable images, but I could put shorts on myself, and costumes that looked enough like regular clothes were usable. The AI also didn’t seem to have an issue with jackets and coats as categories.

Elvis looks

(Image credit: Photo/Google AI)

For instance, on Google Shopping, I found replicas of the outfits Elvis wore for his 1966 comeback and one of his jumpsuits from the 1970s. With a couple of clicks, I could imagine myself dressed as the King in different eras.

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It even changed my shoes in the all-black suit. I’d always wondered if I could pull off either look. The images are shareable, and you can save or send them to others from the Google mobile app and see how much of an Elvis your friends think you are.

Super summer

(Image credit: Photo/Google AI)

The details that the AI changes to make the photos work are impressive. I used the AI to try on a fun summer look and the closest to a superhero costume I could try. The original photo is me in a suit and jacket with a bowtie and black dress shoes. But the shoes and socks on both AI-generated images not only match what was in the search result, but they’re shaped to my stance and size.

Plus, despite wearing long sleeves and pants, the AI found a way to show some of my arms and legs. The color matches reality, but its imperfections are noticeable to me. My legs look too skinny in both, like the AI thinks I skipped leg day, and my legs in the shorts have not been that hairless since I turned 13.

Imperfections aside, it does feel like this will be a major part of the next era of e-commerce. The awkward guessing of whether a color or cut works for your skin tone and build might be easier to resolve.

I wouldn’t say it can make up for trying them on in real life, especially when it comes to sizing and comfort, but as a digital version of holding an outfit up against you while you look in a mirror, it’s pretty good.

Ending unnecessary returns

(Image credit: Photo/Google AI)

Uncanny as some of the resulting images are, I think this will be a popular feature for Google Shopping. I’d expect it to be heavily imitated by rivals in AI development and online retail, where it isn’t already.

I particularly like how the AI lets you see how you’d look in more outlandish or bold looks you might hesitate to try on at a store. For example, the paisley jacket and striped pants on the left or the swallowtail jacket and waistcoat with Victorian trousers on the right. I’d hesitate to order either look and would almost certainly plan on returning one or both of them even before they arrive.

Returns are a plague on online retailers and waste tons of packaging and other resources. But if Google shows us how we’d look in clothes before we buy them, it could chip away at return rates; retailers will race to sign up for the program.

It could also open the door to more personalized style advice from AI. You could soon have an AI personal dresser, ready to give you a virtual fit check and suggest your next look, even if it isn’t something Elvis would have worn.

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