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Dive Brief:
Microsoft partnered with Curated for You, an AI-powered commerce platform, to allow its Microsoft Copilot AI companion users to discover fashion through natural conversation, according to a Sept. 17 announcement.
With the tool, Copilot users can type in prompts and receive context-aware, shoppable product curations.
Revolve, Steve Madden, Tuckernuck, Rent the Runway and Lulus are now live on the platform.
Dive Insight:
With AI-supported technology, Microsoft and Curated for You are showcasing products to shoppers right as they seek fashion inspiration.
Shoppers engage with Copilot using natural prompts such as “What should I wear to a holiday party in NYC?” and personalized, trend- and event-based results are given from participating retailers.
Curated for You uses “visual stories” to appeal to shoppers more than traditional ads or product recommendations, resulting in high engagement and conversions, according to the company.
“At Revolve, we’ve always been at the forefront of merging fashion and technology to create the most engaging shopping experience for our customers,” Divya Mathur, chief merchandising officer and fashion director at Revolve, said in a statement. “Partnering with Curated for You and Microsoft allows us to seamlessly deliver on this goal — by showing her highly relevant product curations right when she’s planning her next moment. This is more than a new channel — it’s a new era of discovery, and we’re proud to be part of it.”
More brands and retailers are integrating AI into the product discovery journey. This month, Ralph Lauren introduced the Ask Ralph feature within its mobile app, where shoppers can receive style advice and fashion inspiration. Target has noticed an uptick in its customers using generative AI over traditional search. Now, the retail giant is modernizing its infrastructure to support longer search queries and enable agent-to-agent communication.
Consumers are increasingly using AI during their shopping journey, research suggests. People are turning to the technology for faster, natural language product searches, according to a recent Bloomreach survey, with most respondents stating that they consider conversational capabilities important.
“Even though people have been trained since the birth of e-commerce to search a certain way, it’s clear they’re relishing the opportunity to speak like people again when shopping online,” Bloomreach stated in the study.
Additionally, consumers are buying more from generative AI’s suggestions, Adobe found, with electronics and jewelry having the highest conversion rates.