Chrome’s new ‘store reviews’ feature will help you shop online with more confidence

We’ve all been there: you stumble upon a cool new online store you’ve never heard of, but a little voice in the back of your head asks, “Is this place legit?” Before you hand over your credit card information, you probably open a new tab and start searching for reviews. It’s a necessary but clunky part of modern online shopping.

Well, Google is now building that peace of mind directly into the browser. In a new announcement on the Google Blog, the company is introducing store reviews to Google Chrome in the U.S., designed to make your online shopping experience safer and more efficient.

How it works

This new feature uses data from Google Shopping and other popular review websites to provide helpful insights when you’re visiting an e-commerce site.

To use it, you just click the icon to the left of the web address (the tune/settings icon), and you’ll get access to an AI-generated summary of reviews for that particular store. The summary will cover key topics that every shopper cares about, including:

• Customer service
• Product quality
• Shipping
• Pricing
• Returns

This allows you to understand what to expect from your shopping experience at a glance, without ever having to leave the site you’re on.

A smarter, safer shopping experience

This is a fantastic and practical use of AI to make everyday online life a bit safer. By surfacing this information directly in the browser, Google is helping users make more informed decisions and avoid potentially shady retailers. It’s a simple feature that adds a powerful layer of transparency to your online shopping. For now, the feature is rolling out to Chrome users in the U.S. Keep an eye out for that little icon the next time you’re Browse a new store!