Online Australian fashion retail platform The Iconic offered insights into the real-world operational improvements generative AI (genAI) can deliver, after employing the technology as part of its use of Google Cloud.
The Iconic stated customer service improvements were its primary goal when employing genAI, though explained the scale of its business means staff are also reaping benefits in the form of a simplified product listing process.
Using open-source models available through Google’s Vertex AI platform along with the search giant’s Gemini chatbot, The Iconic overhauled product search functions by offering a natural-language option and an updated product recommendation feature.
The platform is also working on a feature enabling customers to search for products using a photograph.
Adam Cox, The Iconic CTO, explained the platform has more than 20 million visits per month meaning the AI functions are “a major step forward” in how it links customers to products.
The company also employed the AI models to tag fresh products, explaining the task of doing so manually was becoming increasingly hard for staff due to its catalogue of more than 200,000 products and additions of around 300 per day. It also referenced improved access to a companywide data platform, with details now accessed in “seconds compared to hours” on its previous set-up.
It explained the data framework would underpin future uses of AI “including analysis of microtrends based on the attributes of specific customer subgroups; and dynamic adjustment of content to align with current trends”.