Mastercard rolls out generative AI retail assistant tool for shoppers

Mastercard is the latest major company in the world of payments to jump on the generative AI opportunity by rolling out an AI-powered assistant tool aimed at the retail sector.

According to the company, its generative AI retail assistant can help shoppers by offering them tailored product recommendations.

Mastercard rolls out The Shopping Muse

Known as The Shopping Muse, the tool was developed by Mastercard-owned Dynamic Shield. Mastercard acquired the company around two years ago when it purchased it from McDonald’s. The new tool promises to recreate the in-store human experience in a unique way — by translating the customers’ colloquial language into tailored product recommendations.

Not only that, but the recommendations come with suggestions for coordinating products that customers are likely to wish to buy with various accessories.

This would allow users to search for trending looks, entire dress codes, and even somewhat unconventional terms, like “beach formal” or “cottagecore,” and the Shopping Muse would identify it and find something that matches this description. Then, it would expand the list of potential items that could go well with the term and provide users with recommended matches by also analyzing their unique profile, affinity, and intent.

As it learns more about the user through the conversation’s context over time, the recommendations will become more accurate and more likely to provide users with perfect items.

Unlocking immersive shopping experience

Dynamic Yield’s CEO, Ori Bauer, commented on the new tool, stating that it was designed to provide users with the shopping experience that they want by offering high levels of personalization. Furthermore, AI-driven innovation is the key to unlocking an immersive and tailored online shopping experience.

Bauer added that the company’s tool can meet consumer standards by harnessing the power of generative AI. As a result, their shopping will be smarter and more seamless than ever.

Meanwhile, Mastercard’s own President of Data & Services, Raj Seshadri, commented on the tool by saying that solutions like Shopping Muse are the natural next step in the retail evolution. He sees it as a core to putting the consumers back into the center of the journey. “At Mastercard, we’re putting technology and machine learning to work to deliver better outcomes for both brand and consumer.”

In general, Shopping Muse is expected to help the shoppers find the items they seek quickly, as precisely as possible, and recommend something that the AI believes would go well with the buyers’ existing interests. Further, it can reduce frustration by finding the perfect items for the buyer, even if they struggle to put their request into words.