Ikea released a new generative artificial intelligence (AI) shopping tool, the retailer announced Feb. 5. The tool is available in the OpenAI GPT store with the $20 per month Plus membership in the U.S. Ikea says it will expand the tool to other markets in 2024.
“The new IKEA AI Assistant on GPT Stores is an ongoing initiative, and the continuation of a journey that looks to enrich the retail experience and explore additional avenues to interact with our customers and coworkers, as they help us improve and develop further,” Parag Parekh, global chief digital officer for Ikea Retail, said in a statement.
Ikea is No. 7 in the Europe Database, Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest online retailers in the region.
How does Ikea’s generative AI assistant work?
Consumers can access the Ikea AI assistant through ChatGPT. Users can ask questions about Ikea’s catalog and product availability at a specific store. A customer can tell the tool that he is looking for a dining table that seats eight, and ChatGPT will respond with images of products that fit the description, along with prices and a look at average customer ratings, according to an example video Ikea shared. It can also provide a link directly to checkout with the item on Ikea’s website.
Ikea’s generative AI assistant is available in the U.S.
Users can also ask for design tips, or ask the tool to show them furnishings within specific parameters. For example, ‘’Show me a cozy living room layout for a small apartment with the use of sustainable materials.’’ Requests can be more specific, too, asking how certain Ikea products would look together in a kitchen, for example.
“We are taking a pragmatic, execution-focused approach, learning by doing and capitalizing on our early efforts of a Responsible AI framework. We activated a broad ecosystem of partners to bring to life several experiments, so that we can take part in the AI evolution as we shape our company strategy,” Francesco Marzoni, chief data and analytics officer at Ikea Retail, said in a statement.
Consumer-facing generative AI
Ikea joins other major retailers in releasing generative AI tools consumers can use to find and purchase goods online. Amazon.com Inc. recently debuted Rufus, a new generative AI shopping assistant trained on Amazon’s product catalog. So far, the assistant is available to a small subset of U.S. customers to answer shopping questions and make recommendations, Amazon said. It will roll out to all U.S. customers in a few weeks.
Walmart is also rolling out ways consumers can use generative AI as they shop. Walmart released a new generative AI-powered search capability in its app at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.
The search function uses Microsoft’s large language model (LLM) alongside Walmart’s data to give consumers relevant results across product categories. Walmart CEO Doug McMillon gave the example of a shopper hosting a Super Bowl watch party. Rather than searching for a new TV, chicken wings, chips, and other essentials, one search would generate all of these items, he said, without the user manually inputting the specifics of each type of product.
The generative AI search will also take into account factors about the specific app user. A consumer’s location, search history, and other relevant information will be used to further refine their results, McMillon said.
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