Retail technology innovation of the week: Ikea AI Assistant on GPT Store goes live in USA
Retail Technology Innovation of the Week is a new series brought to you by RTIH and sponsored by 3D Cloud by Marxent, highlighting stand out deployments, launches, and initiatives by retailers and tech suppliers.
Every week, we will showcase forward thinking tech plays that have impressed our Editor and the Retail Technology Innovations Report judging panel, in the run up to the publication of the 2024 report in March.
So far, we’ve showcased work being done by Ocado Retail, Decathlon, Lacoste, Downtown Spirits, TalkShopLive, Huck’s, Rovertown, Wing, McDonald’s, Google Cloud. Nobody’s Child, IKI, Pixevia, Walmart, A.L.C., Archive, Therabody, Outform, Kingfisher, PMC, Żabka Polska, Boots UK, Ocula Technologies, Grace O'Malley Irish Whiskey, Metacask, Carrefour Belgium, HMV, Worldpay from FIS, and FreedomPay.
And this week we’re focusing on Ikea which has launched an AI powered home design, inspiration and shopping tool, available exclusively on the OpenAI GPT Store.
It says that the move marks “a significant step in democratising planning services and creating a better life for the many, by offering a tool that gives users personalised furniture and decor suggestions based on factors such as room dimensions, personal style, sustainability preferences, budget, functional requirements, and more.”
“The new Ikea AI Assistant on GPT Store 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,” says Parag Parekh, Global Chief Digital Officer at Ikea Retail (Ingka Group).
Users can utilise GPT to articulate their specific home design needs and receive customised recommendations. For instance, ‘’Show me a cozy living room layout for a small apartment with the use of sustainable materials.’’
They can also explore Ikea’s catalogue featuring thousands of products, ranging from minimalist designs to artistic collections and check for their availability across different locations.
And gain inspiration from design ideas, and real life-home transformation stories within the Ikea global community, as well as tips from furnishing experts.
Francesco Marzoni, Chief Data & Analytics Officer (CDAO), says: “We are taking a pragmatic, execution focused approach, learning by doing and capitalising 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.’’
The Ikea AI Assistant is currently available for GPT Plus users in the US market only.
Ikea is looking to take this to further markets where ChatGPT is available during the coming year.
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