Lowe’s has introduced an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered virtual home improvement assistant.
Dubbed “Mylow” and introduced by the home improvement retailer Wednesday (March 12), the tool lets customers get answers to project how-to questions while also searching for the proper products for their job.
“Developed in collaboration with OpenAI and leveraging Lowe’s expert advice, Mylow delivers the expertise of a trusted Lowe’s associate anytime and anywhere, providing customers with clear steps and practical solutions for projects ranging in type and complexity all from the palm of their hand,” the company wrote on its blog.
Lowe’s says Mylow is available in desktop and mobile web versions for MyLowe’s Rewards loyalty members or by visiting lowes.com/Mylow. The company says it hopes to introduce voice capabilities for Mylow and add the service to its app later in the year.
Last month, Lowe’s said it was targeting digital innovation to help promote sales growth amid a “very difficult home improvement macro environment,” as CEO Marvin R. Ellison put it.
Rival Home Depot, meanwhile, said last week it was using a generative AI assistant that helps customers answer questions about products and projects.
Jordan Broggi, the company’s executive vice president of customer experience and president of online, told Bloomberg News that Home Depot wants to eventually add features such as design ideas, product comparisons and recommendations.
Broggi noted that the company faces some challenges here, such as consumer ambivalence toward AI and finding ways to offer the option without it becoming a distraction.
A little more than three-quarters of business leaders point to generative AI as the most impactful emerging technology, according to “What Generative AI Has in Store for the Retail Industry,” a PYMNTS Intelligence and AI-ID collaboration.
Research from that report also found that marketing and sales functions are leading generative AI efforts at 16% of consumer and retail companies, with 57% of marketing and sales teams engaged in GenAI initiatives compared to 31% of departments in other industries.
In a separate report at the close of last year, PYMNTS spoke to a range of experts for their takes on how AI will affect the retail world.
Among them was Citi Ventures Head Arvind Purushotham, who said the future of online shopping will be intensely personal, with AI helping retailers predict and cater to individual customer preferences at new levels.