Google AI Mode shows same products 21.6% more expensive than traditional search

Productrise tracked over 2M product listings across 23 days. When the same product appeared in both Google AI Mode and traditional search for the same query, the AI Mode price was 21.6% higher on average. Across all listings, the median price was $149 in AI Mode vs $100 in traditional search—a 49% gap. Only 1.28% of products overlapped between the two surfaces. Among matched products, 38.1% showed a price discrepancy, and AI Mode was the pricier side 68.4% of the time. The main seller differed on 49.6% of matched products. The post doesn't explain why Google's AI Mode surfaces more expensive inventory.

Why it matters: Productrise quantified Google AI Mode's pricing bias with 2M product listings — the numbers are specific and the finding is sharp. Held back from a higher score because it's a single third-party study from a company that sells e-commerce tools, so there's a vested interest.