A study by Productrise analyzed over 2 million product listings to compare Google's AI Mode with traditional search results. The research tracked 100,000 responses between August 9 and August 31, 2026.
Data shows that AI Mode displays prices averaging 21.6% higher than traditional search. The median product price in AI Mode reached $149, while traditional search results showed a median of $100.
The number of options provided also differs significantly. Traditional search returns an average of 27.8 products per query, whereas AI Mode offers only 3.9. The overlap between the two search methods is minimal, with only 1.28% of products appearing in both.
When matching products were found, 38.1% showed price discrepancies. In 68.4% of these cases, the AI Mode price was higher, with a median premium of 22.2%. Additionally, the primary seller listed for identical items varied by 49.6% between the two modes.
Google stated that both AI Mode and traditional search utilize the same Shopping Graph database to aggregate listings from various retailers.
