Google expands generative AI virtual try-on to new product category

Google’s generative AI-based virtual try-on experience is moving beyond men’s and women’s tops.

The tech giant, which began integrating new generative AI functionality into its search engine in May 2023 and started virtually showing shoppers tops on a selection of real models in June 2023, is now offering a virtual try-on tool for women’s dresses.

"Shopping online to update your seasonal wardrobe can be fun — and challenging," Lilian Rincon, VP, product management and Ira Kemelmacher-Shlizerman, senior staff research scientist, shopping, Google said in a corporate blog post. "It’s hard to tell how a new style will look on you, and buying something that doesn’t work can send you through the returns process, which is burdensome for both shoppers and retailers."

Google’s generative AI model can take one clothing image and accurately reflect how it would drape, fold, cling, stretch and form wrinkles and shadows on a diverse set of real models in various poses. The company selected people ranging in sizes XXS-3XL, representing different skin tones, body shapes, ethnicities and hair types.

Since dresses cover more of a person's body than tops, Google developed a new technique called the VTO-UNet Diffusion Transformer (VTO-UDiT) which isolates and preserves a person’s important features to give a more accurate portrayal of the dress as well as the person wearing it.

In the U.S, shoppers can search for dresses on Google Search and click any style that includes a "try on" badge. From there, customers can see what that garment looks like on a diverse set of real models, ranging in sizes from XXS-3XL. Once a customer finds what they’re looking for, they can then click out to the retailer’s site to buy it.