Google Pay is testing a personalised fashion-shopping feed in India, bringing clothing discovery into an app people already use for payments. The practical detail to check before trying it is the account setup: Discover Shop requires both Web & App Activity and Search Personalization to be switched on.
That makes this more than a new place to browse a catalogue. If you've deliberately turned those settings off, consider whether outfit recommendations are a good enough reason to change them. Access is also limited, so updating the app doesn't mean the new tab will appear.
In its November 2 announcement, Google describes a pilot for selected users in India. An updated app will show a Discover icon at the bottom for people who have access. The feed combines fashion products with YouTube videos, visual search and virtual try-on for selected clothing listings.
You can photograph an item, or upload an existing image, to look for similar products. Google also plans to add pre-generated daily outfit suggestions, but describes those as coming later. Don't count on that feature when deciding whether the current pilot is useful to you.
Check the settings before adding your photos
The Google Pay Help guide spells out the requirements: a personal Google Account, Web & App Activity and Search Personalization enabled. It says recommendations use consented Google Pay data and shopping activity across other Google products.
For virtual try-on, Google says the uploaded photo is used solely to generate the clothing visualisation and can be replaced or updated. You can save products and generated looks for later. Those explanations are worth reading before uploading a picture, rather than assuming the experience has the same data needs as making a payment.
Treat a generated look as a way to explore a style. Before buying, still compare the retailer's measurements with clothing that fits you, read the fabric description and check the return conditions. A convincing picture isn't a substitute for those checks.
Purchases also happen somewhere else. Selecting an item takes you to the merchant's website; Google Pay's guide explicitly says you can't buy it directly inside the app. The merchant determines which payment methods you can use there.
If the pilot reaches your account, start with one item you're already considering. Review the settings, compare the actual product details and decide whether the feed helps you choose. There's no need to change your account preferences just to see a new shopping tab.