Five ways Victoria’s Secret & Co. is using AI to make shopping more personalized and inclusive
At Victoria’s Secret & Co., a key part of our mission is to celebrate and support women in everything we do. We always strive to give each customer, whether they’re a sports enthusiast, a nursing mother, a breast cancer survivor recovering from a mastectomy, or someone who is simply ready for a new bra, a memorable and personalized experience.
Over the past year, we’ve seen how breakthroughs in AI and generative AI hold the potential to enhance inclusivity and personalization for customers everywhere — even those far removed from our retail locations.
That’s why we’re teaming up with Google Cloud to explore AI and generative AI in practical ways for our customers worldwide — in ways that were historically impossible. Through this technology, we aim to replicate the intimate nature of connecting with our associates in physical stores through an enhanced online experience for Victoria’s Secret and Victoria’s Secret PINK customers.
Here are five ways our teams are exploring the use of AI over our strategic, multi-year partnership to redefine the intimate apparel shopping experience and elevate how people engage with our brands.
1. Powering helpful conversations with a generative AI virtual assistant
We want to bring the 1:1 customer service our shoppers experience in our stores to the Victoria’s Secret and Victoria’s Secret PINK website and mobile app with a helpful virtual assistant, powered by Google Cloud’s AI platform, Vertex AI. Our vision is that the new, generative-AI enabled chatbot will offer shoppers tailored product recommendations and helpful advice, each conversation customized to address unique shopping needs and life experiences – just as customers expect while shopping in-store.
Illustration of a generative AI chatbot conversing with a shopper.
2. Improving product discovery capabilities
We’re always looking for ways to make finding the perfect bra more seamless and easy, and our in-store associates are trained to offer bra-fittings with empathy and care for each customer. We’re honoring that approach with the goal of enhancing our website and mobile app by implementing Google Cloud’s Vertex AI Search for retail. With this technology on our digital properties, our search bar will be able to produce better product results for the wide range of queries we see from shoppers. Our customers will also begin to see more product recommendations that are more personalized and helpful.
3. Transforming how shoppers search for products
Shoppers can now use our recently introduced, AI-powered product search feature that uses Google Cloud’s AI technology to help find a specific product by simply dropping an image into the website’s search bar. For example, a shopper can upload a photo of a bra from an earlier product lineup and immediately get product recommendations for current bras with a similar fit and style.
Illustration of a shopper uploading a product image and getting routed to relevant products.
4. Prioritizing customer sentiment
Styles, trends and shopper preferences are always evolving, and our team is always keeping a pulse on this and consumer sentiment. We’re exploring how Google Cloud’s Vertex AI and Looker business intelligence technologies will drive product innovation and refine existing offerings by analyzing and visualizing customer sentiment, including identifying new trends across social media platforms — with the potential to dramatically reduce our product development lifecycles.
Illustration of a dashboard used to better understand customer sentiment
5. Optimizing forecasting and internal operations
Whether it’s right sizing inventory for in-store shopping or a new product launch, we’re also hoping to tap AI for supply chain optimization to better forecast product demand, so we can ensure products are at the right place, at the right time.
To support human resources and store operations, we’ll explore Google Cloud’s generative AI technologies to create conversational and personalized associate onboarding programs and training. Additionally, we will automate the production of job descriptions and the transcription of interview note-taking.
And this is just the beginning.
We look forward to exploring more ways we can partner with Google Cloud to use the latest technologies to make shopping even more intuitive, seamless and welcoming for all. Be sure to follow along with us for more information at Victoriassecret.com or through our Victoria’s Secret and PINK app.
