Observed Signal · Jun 3, 2026 · Product Launch · Source: https://marketingtechnews.net/feed/ · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Macy’s launches Ask Macy’s AI shopping assistant
Macy’s has deployed an AI-powered shopping assistant called Ask Macy’s on its ecommerce site after roughly six months of development and a rapid beta. The project was re-based onto Google’s Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience in collaboration with Google Cloud. During beta tests Ask Macy’s drove 4.75× higher revenue per visit among users (per Google Cloud). The assistant scans Macy’s full product catalogue, asks follow-up preference questions, and includes a virtual try-on that can superimpose items onto uploaded photos. The initial joint project began in early February 2026; a beta launched to test shoppers and employees four weeks later, with staged rollout to half site traffic before full release.
A major national retailer (Macy’s) deployed an LLM-powered conversational shopping assistant with a reported large revenue uplift (4.75× revenue per visit in beta), demonstrating a scalable conversational-commerce use case and a fast retailer–cloud vendor (Google Cloud) collaboration that other retailers and martech teams may replicate.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Macy’s launched an AI-powered shopping assistant named Ask Macy’s on its online store.
- Macy’s re-based the project onto Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience and worked with Google Cloud.
- Google Cloud reported Ask Macy’s generated 4.75 times higher revenue per visit among users during beta testing.
- The joint project between Google Cloud and Macy’s began in early February 2026; beta ran four weeks after start, production was offered to half site traffic then general release a week later.
- Ask Macy’s scans Macy’s entire product catalogue, asks supplemental preference questions, and offers a virtual try-on feature that superimposes items onto uploaded shopper images.
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Michaels launches Ask Mike AI shopping assistant
Michaels quietly launched Ask Mike to customers in May and formally announced the customer-facing AI shopping assistant on July 21, 2026. Built with Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience, Ask Mike moved from concept to production in roughly six weeks, enabled by a modern cloud foundation and an AI-ready product catalog. Live on desktop, mobile web and iOS/Android apps, the assistant has handled about 75,000 conversations; Michaels reports 27% of interactions lead to a product click or add-to-cart and that conversion is more than double traditional site search. More than 60% of interactions focused on product discovery. Michaels plans future enhancements such as AI-generated product overviews and contextual prompts, and said it did not disclose baseline conversion rates, group sizes, or AOVs.
Kohl's launches AI shopping assistant
Kohl’s has launched an AI shopping assistant for its online site and mobile app to improve product discovery and customer support. The assistant aggregates deals, offers personalized product recommendations, compares items, performs searches using customers’ uploaded images, answers promotion queries, tracks online orders, connects to customer service, and supports buy-online-pick-up-in-store workflows. The tool builds on Kohl’s April Gift Finder and the company is leveraging Google infrastructure (including Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience) to power conversational product discovery. The move follows similar AI assistant rollouts by other major retailers such as Macy’s, Michaels and Lowe’s. Kohl’s recent Q1 results showed a 1.7% dip in net sales and a $14 million net loss for the quarter.
Macy's Rolls Out AI Inventory Replenishment Tool
Macy's Inc. is expanding an artificial intelligence forecast overlay to its inventory replenishment operations, moving from pilot to broader implementation, according to its September 10 earnings call. The initiative aims to improve in-stock levels and drive inventory efficiencies by ensuring the right product is in the right place at the right time. COO and CFO Tom Edwards highlighted that supply chain efficiencies are expected in the second half of 2026, benefiting gross margin. This rollout is part of Macy's 'Bold New Chapter' transformation plan launched in 2024, expected to generate $235 million in savings by 2026. The company enters the fall season in a good inventory position, with inventory up 2.5% in Q2, aligned with sales growth. Other retailers like Target, Lowe's, and Kohl's are also optimizing inventory management with AI and other technologies.
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