Good morning. After nearly three decades of retailers trying to make online shopping easier, it can still be overwhelming—unless you know the specific brand, style, and color of whatever you want.
At Fortune’s Brainstorm AI conference in London, which wraps up today, executives from eBay and Wayfair pitched artificial intelligence as the answer. New AI-infused search tools can help find the fuzzy slippers or plaid couch that you desire.
Nitzan Mekel, eBay chief AI officer, showed off the company’s first shopping agent, or companion, that’s supposed to guide users through his site’s vast listings. It gives shoppers conversational prompts and uses iterative reasoning to suss out what they’re looking for.
A similar effort is underway at Wayfair, according to Fiona Tan, the home retailer’s chief technology officer. “Sometimes, shoppers don’t know exactly what they want until they see it,” she said on stage. “We use generative AI to create imagery and inspiration.”
As the quintessential lost shopper, I hope both executives succeed. —Verne Kopytoff
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