As the fashion product discovery model continues to transform rapidly, Algolia has announced it is enabling fashion retailers to deploy AI agents to style consumers digitally.  According to the AI-native search and discovery platform, its AI agents will take into account shoppers’ purchase history and buying intent behaviours, matching these to retailers’ available inventory to recommend the best products to each customer.

“For fashion retailers looking to stay ahead, this isn’t future tech—it’s what’s possible now.”

Bernadette Nixon, CEO, Algolia

“By acting as the connective intelligence layer between customer data and front-end AI agents, Algolia empowers brands to create shopping experiences that feel as tailored and responsive as an in-store stylist,” noted Nixon. 

The platform released new data, as reported in Sourcing Journal, which shows more than a third (35%) of consumers believe AI can predict fashion trends better than they can.  A similar number (34%) trust AI to compile better outfits than they could think up themselves.

Commenting on the research, Nate Barad, VP of Product Marketing at Algolia, said consumers no longer think of AI as just a functional tool:

“People are comfortable trusting and giving up the decision making – we’re talking about taste and creativity. If I believe that AI can put together a better outfit for me than I can, that, to me, is a telling indicator that we’re going beyond using AI for things like efficiency.”

In a recent article on Glossy, Julie Bornstein, Co-Founder of AI shopping start-up, Daydream, summed up the shift:

 “People are interested in a vibe, they’re interested in advice. You shouldn’t need to know the exact right term to find a black block heel sandal.”

Julie Bornstein, Co-Founder, Daydream

Daydream, which is set to launch this summer, enables search by natural language and images, and has already onboarded over 2,000 brands and retailers, including Net-A-Porter and Jimmy Choo.

In April, OpenAI enabled ChatGPT to act as a shopping assistant offering real-time product suggestions in categories including fashion, beauty and home goods. Users can ask detailed shopping queries in natural language and receive customised results, complete with direct links to shop. Currently, unlike traditional search engines and social media, product results are chosen by the AI, powered by third-part metadata rather than ads.