Last year, Google introduced an AI shopping tool in Search, allowing users to see how a piece of clothing would look on a person with their body type. The feature debuted with women"s tops from multiple brands. After understanding the tool"s benefits for both shoppers and brands, Google is expanding its AI shopping tool to include one more apparel category: dresses.
Shoppers in the US will now see a new "try on" badge when they search for a dress on Google. Selecting a dress will open the virtual try on AI tool, which displays models with different body types, ranging from XXS to XXXL. Users can select a model that matches their body type and virtually try on the dresses to get a better idea of how the dress will fit before placing the order.
Once you have found a dress that suits your personality, you can click on the retailer"s website to purchase it.
Google mentioned that it had to overcome multiple challenges to tune the tool and also add support for dresses since dresses cover more of the body and "are often more detailed than a simple top in their draping, silhouette, length or shape and include everything from midi-length halters to mini shifts to maxi drop waists, plus everything in between."
Google couldn"t simply use its existing Virtual Try-On (VTO) AI model. While the VTO AI model successfully diffused using low-resolution images, this "approach often resulted in the loss of a dress’s critical details — and simply switching to high-resolution didn’t help."
To fix this issue, the Google research team came up with a new training strategy called "VTO-UNet Diffusion Transformer (VTO-UDiT)."
Google explains that the VTO-UDiT starts the diffusion of lower-resolution images and gradually trains in higher resolution during the diffusion process. This approach ensures the accurate recreation of fine details such as pleats, prints, and fabric texture.
Google has also partnered with SIMKHAI, allowing users to try on select dresses from their runway collection after SIMKHAI"s September show in New York, and pre-order them from SIMKHAI"s official website.