Victoria’s Secret Turns to AI for Product Recommendations

Victoria’s Secret hopes to soon let its customers turn to AI for product recommendations.

The apparel retailer has teamed with Google Cloud for a partnership that involves using artificial intelligence (AI) — including a new AI assistant — to create a more “personalized and inclusive” online shopping experience, the company said in a Thursday (Jan. 11) press release.

“The goal of the conversational chatbot is to provide shoppers with tailored product recommendations and helpful advice based on personal preferences and life experiences — whether a customer is a sports enthusiast, a nursing mother, a breast cancer survivor recovering from a mastectomy, or simply ready for a new bra,” the release said.

The release notes that Adore Me — the direct-to-consumer lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret purchased in 2022 — has been using Google Cloud’s Vertex AI platform and Duet AI for Google Workspace for generative AI efforts.

“The integration of Google Cloud’s AI and generative AI technologies will not only improve the online shopping experience for our customers, but also will empower our internal teams to drive innovation across various business functions,” said Chris Rupp, chief customer officer for Victoria’s Secret.

That could mean things like using AI in marketing, analyzing customer sentiment, forecasting product demand and ensuring timely inventory management.

The partnership is happening amid a wave of new product rollouts designed to integrate AI into the shopping experience.

For example, Microsoft said earlier this week that its Azure OpenAI Service is powering many of the new generative AI tools Walmart has introduced for its shoppers and employees.

As Walmart builds generative AI into the search function of its digital shopping platform, it is using large language models (LLMs) found in Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service as well as retail-specific models Walmart has built itself.

Walmart is combining these LLMs with its proprietary data and technology to give shoppers a curated list of items they are looking for.

“One of the reasons why Walmart and other leading retailers are choosing Azure OpenAI Service is the ability to access the most advanced AI models in the world while backed by the enterprise-grade capabilities found in Microsoft Azure including security, compliance and regional availability,” Microsoft wrote on its blog.

Also this week, video commerce and engagement platform Firework debuted an AI-powered virtual shopping assistant for eCommerce merchants, known as AVA (AI Virtual Assistant).

As PYMNTS wrote, this assistant takes the form of a digital human avatar that uses Firework’s proprietary LLM to turn eCommerce sites into virtual stores, act as a brand and product expert, and offer personalized guidance based on customers’ purchase history.