Michaels stated customers utilizing its Ask Mike, an AI-powered buying assistant, transformed at greater than double the speed of shoppers utilizing the retailer’s conventional search operate. The software has dealt with almost 75,000 conversations since launching in Might.
The retailer formally introduced Ask Mike on July 21, describing it as its first customer-facing AI buying assistant. Michaels stated 27% of interactions led to a product click on or an merchandise being added to a cart.
Ask Mike is accessible by way of the corporate’s desktop and cell web sites, in addition to its iOS and Android purposes. It was constructed utilizing Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise for Buyer Expertise, which additionally helps AI buying capabilities at retailers together with Ulta Magnificence, Macy’s, and The Residence Depot.
Clients can describe a mission or buying purpose utilizing pure language as a substitute of getting into particular person product phrases. Ask Mike then asks about components reminiscent of mission sort, supplies, colors, and finances earlier than recommending merchandise.
Michaels stated greater than 60% of Ask Mike interactions have targeted on on-line product discovery. Clients have used the assistant for requests starting from planning events to deciding on supplies for craft and residential initiatives.
Baymard Institute’s ecommerce usability analysis identifies a number of types of search intent past actual product queries, together with searches primarily based on product options, compatibility, and use instances. Ask Mike’s prompts equally collect details about what the shopper is making an attempt to finish earlier than returning suggestions.
From discovery to buy
Heather Bennett, president and chief buyer officer at Michaels, stated customers utilizing Ask Mike transformed at greater than double the speed of shoppers utilizing conventional search.
Michaels didn’t disclose the underlying conversion charges, the sizes of the comparability teams, or common order values. It additionally didn’t present separate figures for product clicks, cart additions, and accomplished purchases.
“Not like conventional search, Ask Mike acts as a artistic assistant that helps customers transfer seamlessly from inspiration to product discovery and cart motion, driving a lot increased general engagement,” Bennett stated.
Conventional search typically requires clients to divide a wider mission into particular person key phrases and assessment the outcomes themselves, Bennett stated. Ask Mike as a substitute makes use of the shopper’s broader goal to advocate merchandise related to the identical process.
Michaels has additionally noticed variations within the merchandise chosen by way of every sort of search. Clients utilizing Ask Mike typically add important supplies and associated ending gadgets for initiatives reminiscent of events, framing work, and crafts, based on Bennett.
Clients utilizing the normal search bar extra generally search for a selected product they’ve already recognized. Michaels didn’t present knowledge exhibiting whether or not the reported bundling behaviour resulted in bigger baskets or increased order values.
Adobe Digital Insights has individually reported increased engagement and conversion amongst retail guests referred by exterior AI providers. Its evaluation of multiple trillion visits to US retail web sites discovered that AI-referred guests transformed at a charge 54% increased than non-AI visitors in Might 2026.
Adobe additionally discovered that AI-referred guests spent 53% extra time on retail web sites, considered 23% extra pages per go to, and had been 36% much less more likely to depart instantly. These findings concern visitors referred by exterior AI platforms quite than assistants embedded inside retailers’ web sites, so they don’t seem to be straight comparable with Michaels’ outcomes.
Constructing out Ask Mike
Michaels moved Ask Mike from idea to manufacturing in six weeks. Google Cloud attributed the event timeline to the retailer’s current cloud infrastructure, up to date know-how stack, and product catalogue, which had been organised to be used by the AI assistant.
Kapil Dabi, Americas lead for retail and client packaged items options at Google Cloud, stated the technical basis was just one a part of the deployment. Retailers additionally want to grasp the kind of help clients require throughout particular buying journeys, he stated.
A buyer planning a birthday celebration, for instance, might have suggestions throughout a number of product classes quite than a response targeted on one merchandise. Dabi stated this requires data of how clients strategy a mission and which merchandise they want at completely different levels.
Michaels plans so as to add product overviews and built-in prompts to product pages. The retailer didn’t present a timeline for introducing the options.
(Picture by حامد طه)
See additionally: Google leads AI discovery as ChatGPT dominates LLM referrals
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