• by Laurie Sullivan , Yesterday

Gap became the first major fashion retailer on Tuesday to announce a checkout integration in Google Gemini, allowing purchases through AI chat.

Starting today customers can browse Gap's catalog, get styling recommendations, and complete checkout in Google Gemini AI Assistant, the retailer announced on its website.

“We are not pursuing AI for novelty,” Sven Gerjets, Chief Technology Officer at Gap, wrote on the company’s website. “These partnerships are about solving real customer problems -- helping shoppers feel confident about fit and making it easier to complete a purchase.”

The move signals a major shift in how consumers will shop, bypassing traditional ecommerce sites and moving to autonomous systems -- as well as how a holistic AI strategy will work across all its brands such as Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta.

The integration also signals a shift in ad media buys. While the integration is unlikely to replace traditional ad media buying entirely, it does represent a change in how brands reach consumers.

Google launched direct offers and the underlying Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) in January and has been rolling out in phases.

Gap will use UCP to meet customers wherever they choose to shop, with a seamless checkout experience across emerging AI environments. 

Customers will be able to purchase products from Gap while using and searching in AI Mode in Google Search and the Gemini app.   

Gap's integration lives inside Gemini, where hundreds of millions of users already spend time asking questions and getting recommendations. It's the difference between adding a chatbot to a website storefront and having a shop somewhere inside a mall.

The retailer also launched an AI-powered fit tool. The company hopes to avoid consumers making a purchase and returning it for a different size by implementing the personalized fit guidance from Bold Metrics’ Agent Sizing Protocol and support for Google’s new Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP).

It should enable an easier purchase without returns in 2026, which the National Retail Federation estimated in 2025 would reach 19.3%, $849.9 billion, of online sales.

Online sales for Gap’s have done better than in store sales. Gap’s reported net sales rose 2% in the fourth quarter in 2025 to $4.2 billion. Store sales were flat and online sales rose 5% compared with the year-ago quarter. Online sales represented 42% of total net sales.