Bluecore Acquires AI Shopping Assistant, alby
Major ecommerce players like Amazon have started to set a new standard for online shopping experiences with AI-powered shopper assistants – just visit a product page on Amazon and you’ll find its AI assistant, Rufus, everywhere.
While AI assisted shopping is still relatively new, we know that anything scaled by Amazon has been significantly tested and that given the value of page real estate on that site that anything new is driving revenue. With this knowledge, retailers are already facing the challenge of delivering similar conversational capabilities, or risk falling behind. Many brands have attempted to develop their own AI shopping assistants or work around the limitations of traditional chatbots, but most have struggled to do so given the considerable work needed to train, test, secure, and scale a large language model and then apply specific use cases, especially when every retailer and brand’s products and customers are unique.
Recognizing this emerging and growing need, Bluecore has acquired AI shopping assistant, alby, aiming to level the playing field for retailers and DTC brands.
Fundamentally, this acquisition aligns with our mission to help retailers discover and retain their best customers. It will allow retailers to deploy AI shopping assistants across their digital channels – including websites, email campaigns, SMS, and mobile apps – without the burden of building and managing their own AI models and workflows.
Alby’s integration with Bluecore’s platform addresses a critical pain point for retailers: answering product-specific questions that often determine whether a shopper completes a purchase – or as alby has observed, answering questions consumers didn’t even know they had yet. Bluecore’s assistant will not just answer questions, however; it will also pre-populate product pages and modules with the questions it knows shoppers are most likely to have about products.
By anticipating and responding to queries like “Is this makeup tested on animals?” or “Is this tent easy to set up?”, the AI assistant can significantly increase conversion rates. Retailers using alby have reported shoppers being twice as likely to make a purchase compared to those who don’t engage with the assistant.
Additionally, the AI assistant has been shown to reduce the load on customer support teams, as shoppers can get immediate answers to many of their questions – and even reduce product return rates.
Beyond improving the shopping experience for the consumer, this AI-driven approach creates valuable new data sets for retailers. The conversations between shoppers and alby generate insights that can be used to refine marketing strategies, improve product descriptions, and even inform inventory decisions.
For Bluecore customers, this engagement data will introduce new event-triggered marketing opportunities, including the ability to re-engage shoppers who abandon conversations mid-way.
Conversational commerce is just the beginning of a broader vision for AI in retail. Bluecore plans to expand alby’s capabilities beyond conversational commerce, exploring applications in areas such as generative-based orchestration, merchant insights, and customer support. This adaptability is crucial in an industry where consumer behaviors and preferences are constantly shifting, and retailers need to move even faster.
Max Bennett, alby’s CEO, co-founder and an original Bluecore co-founder, will lead the evolution of alby within Bluecore along with Kenny Teng, alby’s CTO and co-founder. Prior to alby, Kenny founded Planoly, the #1 social media planning platform which was acquired in 2020. Both co-founders have extensive technology and entrepreneurial backgrounds; Kenny and Max are each two-time founders and Goldman Sachs alum.
They also have deep expertise within the past, present and future of AI – Max appeared on the Armchair Expert podcast as an expert following the success of his critically acclaimed book, A Brief History of Intelligence. Kenny and Max will be focused on bringing new skills and novel conversational AI applications to acquire, convert and retain customers within Bluecore.
The integration of AI shopping assistants like alby represents a significant step forward for Bluecore and retail tech. It offers retailers a way to meet rising consumer expectations without the need for extensive in-house AI development. By focusing on addressing shoppers’ questions and concerns in real-time, retailers can create more engaging and productive online shopping experiences that drive sales and foster customer loyalty.
If you’re a Bluecore customer and interested to learn more about alby, contact your CSM or message us at meetalby@bluecore.com.
If you’re not working with Bluecore but interested in alby, set up time to talk with our team.
