IBM Acquires Expert Personal Shopper To Boost Watson’s Language Skills

IBM’s artificial intelligence project, Watson, is getting a language upgrade.

TechCrunch reported that IBM recently acquired the Expert Personal Shopper (XPS) platform. XPS was originally designed by IBM strategic partner and investment Fluid to hold online conversations with shoppers and assist them with purchases.

The acquisition included XPS’ technology, its customers and the people who designed it. IBM also get two new clients as part of the deal, The North Face and 1-800-Flowers, who use XPS to serve customers online.

IBM sees XPS’ technology as the future of how humans will interact with eCommerce. It’s a recreation of the in-store customer experience. But that’s just the beginning. There is also potential for XPS’ tech to function in other services, such as hospitality, health care, government and security.

IBM is looking for other partners to build applications for its Watson platform in order to expand the brand and compete in the market.