Macy's AI chatbot drives customer spending up 4.75 times as retailers race to deploy assistants

Macy's AI Chatbot Delivers Dramatic Customer Spending Increase

Macy's Inc. has rolled out an AI shopping assistant that's producing striking results in its battle against declining revenue. Customers who interact with Ask Macy's, the newly launched chatbot powered by Google's Gemini platform, have spent approximately 4.75 times more than shoppers who don't use the tool1

1

. The company gathered this data during several weeks of testing with roughly half of its website visitors before the full launch on Monday across all digital platforms, including its mobile app2

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.

Max Magni, Macy's Inc. chief customer and digital officer, acknowledged that shoppers using the Macy's AI chatbot might already be primed to spend more online—perhaps needing to find items quickly for an upcoming event—compared to casual browsers. Still, the substantial lift in customer spending signals the potential impact of AI-powered shopping assistants on retail performance. "Every retailer is trying to figure it out one step at a time," Magni said. "This is anybody's game. Nobody has cracked the code"1

1

.

Virtual Try-On and Complete the Look Features Drive Engagement

Users have gravitated toward specific capabilities within Ask Macy's, particularly the complete the look option that suggests complementary items like shoes and a belt to accompany a suit, and the virtual try-on feature that lets shoppers visualize how clothing appears on them1

1

. Magni indicated these features appeal primarily to a younger customer base. In physical stores, Macy's staff have begun using the virtual try-on capability with clients who lack time to try items in person, according to Barbie Cameron, the company's chief stores officer1

1

.

The AI shopping assistant invites customers to describe what they're looking for "like you would a store colleague," accepting details such as budget, occasion, color, style, and size. Suggested queries include requests like "I need shoes for a special occasion" and "Help me find a gift"2

2

. This conversational search experience represents a shift from traditional keyword-based product searches that have dominated e-commerce for years.

Retailers Rush to Deploy AI Assistants Amid Competitive Pressure

Around 40% of the top 20 US retailers by revenue have deployed some form of AI-powered shopping assistant, according to Ali Furman, US consumer markets industry leader at PwC. While some companies launched as early as 2024, most rolled out their assistants starting in mid-2025 into this year. "Depth and sophistication vary widely," Furman noted, with the most effective solutions functioning "less like a chatbot and more like a personal shopping agent who knows the assortment and understands your preferences"1

1

.

Retailers are creating these tools partly out of concern that shoppers will abandon their websites to conduct product research on platforms like OpenAI's ChatGPT. Limited data exists about the effect on sales and profitability across the industry, Furman added, but disclosed results have been "directionally positive"1

1

. The competitive race reflects broader anxiety about maintaining direct customer relationships in an era where AI platforms could intermediate shopping decisions.

Machine Learning Algorithm Refined Through Employee Feedback

Thousands of Macy's employees helped refine the chatbot before its public launch, providing feedback that led to significant improvements. Magni and his team adjusted the machine learning algorithm after discovering that requests for dress suggestions didn't consistently surface top brands. The system also failed to account for regional differences—a shopper in Florida might want different product selections than someone in Maine due to weather variations1

1

.

Employee testing also revealed that the chatbot's initial conversational tone felt cold and transactional. When Magni requested T-shirt suggestions for his son, the bot simply presented a list saying "Here's a T-shirt for a 10-year-old." The revised version now responds more naturally with lines like "Ten-year-olds can have so much fun with color - do you want a brighter or more muted color selection?" Customer interactions with Ask Macy's continue to help the team refine the underlying technology. "The machine continues to learn," Magni said1

1

.

AI Deployment Part of Broader Turnaround Strategy

The launch of Ask Macy's represents one component of the retailer's multiyear effort to reverse a sales decline. Macy's reported a return to comparable sales growth in fiscal 2025 after years of contractions, attributing the improvement partly to technology deployment. "I believe Macy's Inc. has significant, underappreciated capabilities in areas such as data science, AI and technology," said Tom Edwards, Macy's Inc. Chief Financial Officer, during an earnings call2

2

.

The company has implemented more than 35 internal AI use cases spanning supply chain, merchandising, marketing, call centers, and omnichannel functions beyond customer-facing applications2

2

. This broader integration of Google's Gemini and other AI technologies suggests Macy's views artificial intelligence as fundamental to operational efficiency, not merely a customer engagement tool. As retailers watch how Ask Macy's performs over coming quarters, the question remains whether the dramatic early lift in customer spending will translate into sustained revenue growth and whether competitors can replicate similar results with their own AI assistants.🟡 untrained_code=🟡

Macy's AI Chatbot Delivers Dramatic Customer Spending Increase

Macy's Inc. has rolled out an AI shopping assistant that's producing striking results in its battle against declining revenue. Customers who interact with Ask Macy's, the newly launched chatbot powered by Google's Gemini platform, have spent approximately 4.75 times more than shoppers who don't use the tool1

1

. The company gathered this data during several weeks of testing with roughly half of its website visitors before the full launch on Monday across all digital platforms, including its mobile app2

2

.

Max Magni, Macy's Inc. chief customer and digital officer, acknowledged that shoppers using the Macy's AI chatbot might already be primed to spend more online—perhaps needing to find items quickly for an upcoming event—compared to casual browsers. Still, the substantial lift in customer spending signals the potential impact of AI-powered shopping assistants on retail performance. "Every retailer is trying to figure it out one step at a time," Magni said. "This is anybody's game. Nobody has cracked the code"1

1

.

Virtual Try-On and Complete the Look Features Drive Engagement

Users have gravitated toward specific capabilities within Ask Macy's, particularly the complete the look option that suggests complementary items like shoes and a belt to accompany a suit, and the virtual try-on feature that lets shoppers visualize how clothing appears on them1

1

. Magni indicated these features appeal primarily to a younger customer base. In physical stores, Macy's staff have begun using the virtual try-on capability with clients who lack time to try items in person, according to Barbie Cameron, the company's chief stores officer1

1

.

The AI shopping assistant invites customers to describe what they're looking for "like you would a store colleague," accepting details such as budget, occasion, color, style, and size. Suggested queries include requests like "I need shoes for a special occasion" and "Help me find a gift"2

2

. This conversational search experience represents a shift from traditional keyword-based product searches that have dominated e-commerce for years.

Retailers Rush to Deploy AI Assistants Amid Competitive Pressure

Around 40% of the top 20 US retailers by revenue have deployed some form of AI-powered shopping assistant, according to Ali Furman, US consumer markets industry leader at PwC. While some companies launched as early as 2024, most rolled out their assistants starting in mid-2025 into this year. "Depth and sophistication vary widely," Furman noted, with the most effective solutions functioning "less like a chatbot and more like a personal shopping agent who knows the assortment and understands your preferences"1

1

.

Retailers are creating these tools partly out of concern that shoppers will abandon their websites to conduct product research on platforms like OpenAI's ChatGPT. Limited data exists about the effect on sales and profitability across the industry, Furman added, but disclosed results have been "directionally positive"1

1

. The competitive race reflects broader anxiety about maintaining direct customer relationships in an era where AI platforms could intermediate shopping decisions.

Machine Learning Algorithm Refined Through Employee Feedback

Thousands of Macy's employees helped refine the chatbot before its public launch, providing feedback that led to significant improvements. Magni and his team adjusted the machine learning algorithm after discovering that requests for dress suggestions didn't consistently surface top brands. The system also failed to account for regional differences—a shopper in Florida might want different product selections than someone in Maine due to weather variations1

1

.

Employee testing also revealed that the chatbot's initial conversational tone felt cold and transactional. When Magni requested T-shirt suggestions for his son, the bot simply presented a list saying "Here's a T-shirt for a 10-year-old." The revised version now responds more naturally with lines like "Ten-year-olds can have so much fun with color - do you want a brighter or more muted color selection?" Customer interactions with Ask Macy's continue to help the team refine the underlying technology. "The machine continues to learn," Magni said1

1

.

AI Deployment Part of Broader Turnaround Strategy

The launch of Ask Macy's represents one component of the retailer's multiyear effort to reverse a sales decline. Macy's reported a return to comparable sales growth in fiscal 2025 after years of contractions, attributing the improvement partly to technology deployment. "I believe Macy's Inc. has significant, underappreciated capabilities in areas suchs as data science, AI and technology," said Tom Edwards, Macy's Inc. Chief Financial Officer, during an earnings call2

2

.

The company has implemented more than 35 internal AI use cases spanning supply chain, merchandising, marketing, call centers, and omnichannel functions beyond customer-facing applications2

2

. This broader integration of Google's Gemini and other AI technologies suggests Macy's views artificial intelligence as fundamental to operational efficiency, not merely a customer engagement tool. As retailers watch how Ask Macy's performs over coming quarters, the question remains whether the dramatic early lift in customer spending will translate into sustained revenue growth and whether competitors can replicate similar results with their own AI assistants.