Having built out Google Lens to help the consumer shop online more easily, the company is now updating this product to help people shop when they are in a brick-and-mortar store by offering product insights, price comparisons, and local inventory availability. The company is bringing new shopping features to Maps, and adding more Google Pay capabilities in preparation for the holiday shopping season.

This is an extension of efforts Google already offers through its Google Shopping vertical. People also have to make similar sets of informed shopping decisions in the real world, and using Google Lens — Google's visual search tool — can make that more accessible.

For example, if you spot some toy that you want to get at Target, you can use Google Lens to take a picture of it, go to reviews and products like that in stock at the specific location that you are visiting. You can also see if the toy is cheaper in another retailer, such as Amazon or Walmart.

Google says the new capability is powered by Shopping Graph's 45 billion product listings and its Gemini models.

We are launching a new product that transform how people shop in physical stores using AI to take the hard guesswork off of in store shopping." said Lilian Rincon, Google VP Consumer Shopping Product told TechCrunch. "There is nothing quite like the magic of in-store shopping during the holidays, and, at the same time, all of us have learned to rely on reading reviews, comparing prices and researching before buying.

To start, you’ll be able to use the feature with beauty products, toys, and electronics at stores that share their local inventory with Google. For now, these retailers include Target, Ulta Beauty, Sally Beauty Supply, Macy’s, Nordstrom, and others.

“We know consumers are really liking using Lens,” Rincon said. “In fact, Lens is used for nearly 20 billion visual searches every month, and 20% of Lens searches are shopping-related. So, we’re excited to bring this to market. It gives some of that important information to help a shopper feel more confident.”

The feature is now available today within both the Google and Chrome apps for Android and iOS, starting from today, for U.S. users who have opted into sharing their location (available here, here, here, and here).

As for the new features in Maps, Google will be able to let users search for products on Maps and find stores close by that are selling them. For example, you can search for a holiday sweater to see which options stores near you are currently carrying.

You will be able to search for home goods, electronics, clothing, and groceries. The new Maps feature is launching in the U.S. in the coming weeks.

Google is also adding more buy now, pay later options to Google Pay, after initially adding Affirm and Zip earlier this year. Users can now use Afterpay as an option when checking out with Google Pay, with support for Klarna coming soon.

Google will soon start piloting a service to help merchants more effectively identify fraudulent transactions. According to the company, the service will enable unblocked legitimate transactions caught as fraud.