Fashion is now (officially) putting ChatGPT at the service of shoppers

ChatGPT is making a first foray into fashion to help consumers find the perfect outfits for their tastes, desires or specific events. Image: Shutterstock

Despite the criticism, bans and investigations surrounding ChatGPT, the conversational AI is still a subject of interest among the public, as well as companies in many sectors. One such sector is fashion, where businesses are looking to take advantage of the AI's performance to improve the shopping experience. In fact, Zalando is launching a fashion assistant powered by the artificial intelligence text generator.

Days could be numbered for run-of-the-mill chatbots! Unable to compete with the state-of-the-art conversational agent ChatGPT, they could soon find themselves replaced on many e-commerce platforms by new tools to help consumers make choices. In the fashion industry, it has only taken a few months since ChatGPT hit the mainstream for brands to take an interest in its performance and seize on it to optimize—and personalize—their customers' shopping experience. This is the case of the multi-brand e-tailer Zalando, which has announced the arrival of a fashion assistant based on this technology that's as futuristic as it is controversial.

A personalized shopping assistant

As previously reported, ChatGPT seems to have all the knowledge and skills required to become a veritable personal shopper. And it didn't take long for the fashion industry to jump on this idea to allow its customers to enjoy an increasingly personalized experience. This spring, Zalando will offer a beta version of a fashion assistant powered by ChatGPT to respond to all its customers' queries and requests, and allow them to find the right outfits according to their tastes, their desires or specific events. Like a real personal shopper, the aim is to offer consumers a tailored selection corresponding to all their search criteria.

"We are excited to be experimenting with ChatGPT to help our valued customers discover even more fashion they will love. This is just the beginning; we are committed to understanding our customers' needs and preferences even better, and we are eager to explore the potential that ChatGPT can bring to their shopping journey. As we continue testing and introducing new solutions, our focus remains on learning how our customers want to interact with our fashion assistant to provide them with the best possible experience," explains Tian Su, VP Personalization and Recommendation at Zalando, in a statement.

Also read: Fashion is embracing artificial intelligence with computer-generated models

A bespoke experience

More concretely, users will be able to interact with the AI chatbot to get personalized advice. So a question like "ChatGPT, what should I wear for a romantic dinner in Paris in July?" could be the starting point of a discussion with the robot that will analyze the weather in the French capital at this time of the year, as well as the most appropriate outfits for such an outing. The user can then refine their choices, with commands like: "ChatGPT, I don't like dresses with ruffles, nor green, can you refine the search?" With just a few questions, the platform's customers should be presented with a list of options that perfectly match the event and their requirements.

The new tool will first be available in beta version to selected customers in Germany, Ireland, Austria and the UK, and therefore functioning in German and English. It could then be deployed elsewhere in Europe, bearing in mind that Zalando is already planning to develop other features. For example, ChatGPT is already able to provide a whole outfit from a simple image. The chatbot might therefore one day be used to allow consumers to obtain a selection of affordable clothing based on a look spotted in a TV series, such as "Succession." Another potential usage that isn't likely to remain untapped for long.