AI news and archive

AI shopping assistants gain traction, but early missteps risk losing customers

AI is fast becoming part of the online shopping journey, but fashion retailers face a narrow margin for error. According to a new survey of 2,000 consumers in the US and UK, 66 percent of shoppers have already tried, or are open to using, an AI assistant such as ChatGPT or a retailer’s own tool when shopping online. Yet the same research...

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Amazon confirms reports, announcing 16,000 layoffs amidst AI & efficiency restructuring plan

Amazon has announced that it will be making 16,000 roles redundant across its global company,confirming media reports that had been circulating since last Friday. The announcement marks the second major round of layoffs made by the tech and e-commerce giant over the past four months, in line with Amazon’s broader aim to streamline its operations...

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Phia secures 35 million dollars in series A funding to scale AI shopping platform

Phia, the AI-driven shopping agent co-founded by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, has secured 35 million dollars in series A funding. Led by Notable Capital, with support from Khosla Ventures and Kleiner Perkins, the round values the 10-month-old startup at 185 million dollars. Since its April 2025 debut, Phia has scaled to over one million users...

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Brunello Cucinelli launches new e-commerce platform

Italian luxury brand Brunello Cucinelli has launched a new e-commerce platform underpinned by artificial intelligence (AI), which is now available in Italy, the UK, and the US, ahead of a rollout to other markets in the coming months. In a statement, the Italian brand said the new e-commerce platform is an evolution of the site...

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AEO, trust signals, and digital assistants: Adapting fashion brands to the new rules of AI shopping

AI commerce is quickly becoming a norm in fashion. As consumers increasingly turn to AI assistants for product discovery and recommendations, brands are being encouraged to rethink their approach to digital shopping journeys. Traditional search and e-commerce funnels are shifting towards AI-led experiences that prioritise speed, relevance and...

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A fish named Fred introduces reverse heritage marketing concept

With its series ‘The Lost Tapes’, A fish named Fred is launching an innovative marketing strategy called reverse heritage marketing. The concept was developed by founder and brand builder Rob Schalker. It creates an artificial yet credible history instead of drawing on existing nostalgia. This is a creative form of "fashiontainment". The project...

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AI shopping: Shopify and Google introduce standard for purchases via AI agents

The use of AI for product discovery, comparison, and purchasing is gaining significant momentum, and Shopify is strategically capitalizing on this trend. Together with Google, the company has introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP): an open standard that allows AI agents to handle purchases directly with brands. The protocol operates...

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JD Sports to allow US shoppers to purchase through AI platforms

The JD Group is due to enable US customers to purchase products through AI platforms. The sportswear retailer has announced a global agreement with digital commerce platform provider Commercetools and Stripe to allow for one-click purchases on platforms such as Gemini and ChatGPT. The company will leverage the duo’s Agentic Commerce Suite (ACS)...

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AI pendants back in vogue at tech show after early setback

Pendants and brooches packed with artificial intelligence abounded at the Consumer Electronics show, using cameras and microphones to watch and listen through the day like a vigilant personal assistant. The return of the wearable tech comes about a year after the discontinuation of a Humane AI Pin panned by reviewers after it was launched amid...

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Hong Kong's luxury department store Lane Crawford launches AI stylist

AiDLab is collaborating with iconic Hong Kong luxury department store Lane Crawford, fashion innovator Calvin Wong, CEO and Centre Director of AiDLab and Endowed Professor in Fashion at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), announced today on LinkedIn. AiDLab, which stands for the Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence in Design, is a...

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Target leverages Gen AI to accelerate production and trend forecasting

The American value retailer is looking to move faster than ever before to engage with shoppers where trends emerge, as data from the HubSpot Consumer Trend Report 2024/2025 found that 85 percent of Gen Z and Millennials want to purchase trending products within 24 hours of seeing them on social media. Target has invested in new tools, such as...

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AI agents will be our shopping guides by 2026, and Gen Z is already there

Picture this: you want a pair of Balenciaga black boots. You open Google and type “Balenciaga boots black”, and begin the routine: endless results, tabs, filters, sizes, prices… scroll, compare, doubt, repeat. This is what shopping experience has become: product choice explodes, while consumer attention collapses. Searches feel time-consuming,...