“Shopping Muse,” a brand-new generative AI shopping tool from Mastercard, is intended to assist customers in receiving tailored product recommendations. Dynamic Yield, a personalization startup that Mastercard purchased in April 2022, powers the tool. “Revolutionize how customers search for and discover products in a retailer’s digital catalogue,” according to Mastercard, is the concept behind Shopping Muse.
The application has the ability to translate users’ informal language into customized product recommendations. Shopping Muse is knowledgeable about contemporary lingo and fashion, such as “beach formal” and “cottagecore.” Questions such as “What should I wear for a summer wedding?” can be posed to the tool. or “Is there anything you’d suggest for a minimalist capsule wardrobe?”
Shopping Muse considers the context of the user’s shopping experience, the direct question or questions being asked, and the topic of the conversation when generating personalized recommendations. The retailer’s product catalog and the shopper’s on-site actions, like clicking on specific products and adding items to carts, are also sources of data used by the algorithms. The algorithms also consider the consumer’s known preferences and those that are displayed in real time.
When a user logs in, the algorithms might take into account their previous browsing and purchase history with that particular retailer. This could include any in-person purchases they made by giving the cashier their phone number or email, for example, and connecting those purchases to their account.
Shopping Muse can assist users with phrase-based searching in addition to making recommendations for products when the user is unable to find the right words to express their needs. According to Mastercard, “using integrated advanced image recognition tools, retailers can recommend relevant products based on visual similarities to others, even if they lack the right technical tags.”
While Mastercard’s new tool is initially intended for the fashion industry, the company notes that other industries, such as furniture and grocery, may also benefit from this technology.
“Personalization gives people the shopping experiences they want, and AI-driven innovation is the key to unlocking immersive and tailored online shopping,” said Ori Bauer, the CEO of Dynamic Yield by Mastercard, in a statement. “By harnessing the power of generative AI in Shopping Muse, we’re meeting the consumer’s standards and making shopping smarter and more seamless than ever.”
More than one in four retailers currently use generative AI solutions, and another 13% plan to do so in the upcoming year, according to Mastercard, which asserts that retailers must embrace technology in order to adapt to changing consumer demands.