Google is rolling out new features that are designed to help with planning summer travel. The tech giant announced on Friday that its agentic AI within AI Mode can now help check whether what you need is in stock at a nearby store, and that you can now also track prices for individual hotels directly in Search.

With its latest AI Mode update, Google can now contact local stores on your behalf to find out what shop carries the specific item you’re looking for. This feature launched directly on Search last November, and is now rolling out on AI Mode in the coming weeks in the United States.

You can describe what you need, like “I forgot to pack my prescription sunglasses, so I’m trying to find a pair of clip-on polarized ones that fit over my current glasses. Where can I get some nearby?” Google will then make the calls and send you the details afterwards.

Although you can already track hotel prices at the city level, the new update lets you do so for a specific hotel that you’re interested in. On desktop, you can do this by looking up a hotel by name and then tapping the new price tracking toggle. On mobile, you’ll find the option under the “Prices” tab after you search. Once you set this up, you will receive an email alert if the price changes during your chosen dates.

Image Credits:Google /

As part of its announcement, Google shared that the top trending international and domestic destinations on Google Flights for summer 2026 include St. Maarten, Stockholm, Kansas City, Missouri, and Sarasota, Florida.

It also shared search interest in “AI travel assistant” and “AI concierge” has surged by 350% over the past year. Additionally, “how to use AI to find flight deals” emerged as a trending “flight deals” query in the past month, and interest in “AI flight booking” has jumped by 315%.

Topics

ai mode, Apps, Google, Google Search

Aisha Malik

Consumer News Reporter

Aisha is a consumer news reporter at TechCrunch. Prior to joining the publication in 2021, she was a telecom reporter at MobileSyrup. Aisha holds an honours bachelor’s degree from University of Toronto and a master’s degree in journalism from Western University.

You can contact or verify outreach from Aisha by emailing aisha@techcrunch.com or via encrypted message at aisha_malik.01 on Signal.

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Google's AI Mode can now help you find products in stock nearby