Michaels has launched Ask Mike, an AI-powered shopping assistant built with Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience to improve product discovery.
Michaels, a North American arts and crafts retailer, has announced the launch of Ask Mike, a new AI-powered shopping assistant built with Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience. Now live on Michaels.com, the tool streamlines the digital shopping experience by delivering real-time, personalised creative guidance, turning the path from inspiration to purchase into a seamless conversation.
In a digital landscape where choice is abundant, Ask Mike transforms shopping from a standard search-driven task into a guided, creative dialogue. By moving beyond traditional keyword filtering, the agent lets shoppers simply describe their creative vision and receive highly curated, personalised recommendations instantly. Whether on desktop, mobile, or the iOS or Android app, Ask Mike helps customers quickly discover the right products and spark new ideas across Michaels’ extensive assortment.
Since its release in May, Ask Mike has generated strong engagement across the Michaels community. Shoppers are leveraging the tool for a wide spectrum of creative and celebratory needs, with over 60% of interactions focused on product discovery across Michaels’ online assortment.
Users are treating Ask Mike as a versatile creative assistant, turning to it for everything from party planning, such as “help me plan my child’s birthday party”, to finding the perfect finishing touches, including “I need a fabric for DIY curtains.” This ability to share specific, intent-driven requests demonstrates how Ask Mike is transforming the online shopping experience into a personalised conversation that helps shoppers move from inspiration to action.
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“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. 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 personalised creative partner for our customers so they can find what they need to bring their unique visions to life,” said Heather Bennett, President & Chief Customer Officer, Michaels.
“Michaels has been building on Google Cloud for years, and Ask Mike is a direct result of that strong foundation — a testament to what’s possible when deep infrastructure investment meets the power of Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience. Seeing a retailer move from concept to a production-grade AI in just six weeks is a signal of where the industry is heading. Michaels is showing what it looks like to put AI at the centre of the shopping experience, not just as a service tool, but as a true driver of discovery and conversion,” said Paul Tepfenhart, Global Director, Retail Industry Strategy & Solutions, Google Cloud.
Looking ahead, Michaels plans to continue expanding Ask Mike’s capabilities, including future enhancements such as AI-driven product overviews and contextual prompts integrated directly into product detail pages.
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