Senator Raises Privacy Concerns About Gemini’s Shopping Feature

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, sent a letter to Google chief executive Sundar Pichai requesting extensive information about the company’s plan to embed a checkout capability directly into its Gemini artificial‑intelligence chatbot. The senator’s outreach follows Google’s recent announcement that Gemini will soon enable users to purchase products within the chat interface using the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), a standard created in partnership with major retailers such as Shopify, Target, Walmart, Wayfair, and Etsy.

Warren’s letter emphasizes that the new functionality could allow Google and participating retailers to exploit sensitive user data or manipulate consumers into spending more and paying higher prices. She notes that Google already holds “unprecedented troves of user search and AI chat data,” and cautions that this intimate information might be merged with data from other Google services and third‑party retailer sources to influence buying behavior in an exploitative manner.

The senator specifically asks how much user information— and what kinds—Google intends to provide to retailers through the UCP pipeline. She also questions whether Google will give preferential treatment to shopping results from its retail partners over competing merchants. Warren points out that Google has acknowledged it will use “sensitive data to help retailers upsell consumers into buying a more ‘premium’ product,” and she references a response posted on X in which Google said retailers could “show additional premium product options that people might be interested in.”

In addition to privacy concerns, Warren seeks answers about the impact of user data on pricing and whether shoppers will be informed when Gemini’s product suggestions are driven by upselling objectives, advertising incentives, or sensitive user data. The senator has given Google until February 17th to provide a response.

Warren’s inquiry reflects broader legislative scrutiny of how large technology platforms integrate commerce functions into AI services. By probing Google’s data‑sharing practices and potential for consumer manipulation, the senator aims to ensure that emerging AI‑driven shopping experiences respect user privacy and maintain fair market competition.

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