Michaels Debuts Google-Powered AI Shopping Assistant

Arts and crafts retailer Michaels has introduced an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered shopping assistant dubbed “Ask Mike.”

Ask Mike was built with Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience and is designed to provide “real-time, personalized creative guidance” to Michaels’ online shoppers, the company said in a news release Tuesday (July 21).

“In a digital landscape where choice is abundant, Ask Mike transforms shopping from a standard search-driven task into a guided, creative dialogue,” the release said. “By moving beyond traditional keyword filtering, the agent allows shoppers to simply describe their creative vision and instantly receive highly curated, personalized recommendations.”

Since its initial rollout in May, shoppers have been using the tool for a variety of “creative and celebratory needs,” the company added, with more than 60% of interactions centered on product discovery. Customers are also using Ask Mike as a “creative assistant,” the release said, whether that means help with planning a child’s birthday party or seeking out fabric to make curtains.

“In just a few weeks, Ask Mike has fueled nearly 75,000 conversations, with our community using the tool for everything from party planning to finding the right materials for their first punch-needle pillow,” said Heather Bennett, president and chief customer officer at Michaels. “As the destination for creating and celebrating, we’re committed to meeting our customers exactly where they are. Ask Mike is more than just a search tool; it’s a personalized creative partner for our customers so they can find what they need to bring their unique visions to life.”

The launch of Ask Mike comes as artificial intelligence (AI) has become a “front door to commerce,” as PYMNTS wrote recently.

Research by PYMNTS Intelligence shows that almost half of eCommerce shoppers used AI to research their most recent purchase. Many will let AI agents search across merchants, compare products, manage loyalty programs and uncover deals.

However, trust dips when the agent gets closer to payment, with consumers wanting the right to approve a purchase, along with human support, data protection and obvious ways to cancel or reverse a purchase.

“Merchants see the upside. AI agents could help personalize offers,” the report said. “They could improve loyalty, increase repeat purchases and make shopping more efficient. But merchants draw firm lines around pricing. They are cautious of fraud, want clear liability rules and want to protect customer data and prevent agents from steering shoppers to competitors.”

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