- Ikea aims to provide design inspiration to its customers by using its artificial intelligence assistant GPT Store, but it is observed that the assistant is not successful in providing the expected support to customers.
- Some users think Ikea’s GPT could be a potential solution, noting that the ability to ask questions about products in Ikea Marketplace could be useful for ChatGPT Plus users.
- Ikea offers its artificial intelligence assistant to ChatGPT Plus users in the United States, but it is stated that Ingka Group plans to expand access to wider geographies in the near future.
Furniture giant Ikea draws attention with the artificial intelligence assistant it developed to facilitate the shopping experience. However, it turned out that the application did not perform as expected.
Ikea’s artificial intelligence assistant, called GPT Store, aims to help customers by giving them information about products and showing them how to visualize them in rooms. Francesco Marzoni, chief data and analytics officer at Ingka Group, stated that the artificial intelligence assistant is part of a series of experiments aimed at shaping the company strategy.
However, many users state that the assistant does not meet expectations and is inadequate in terms of interior design. Designed to ease the hassle of going to the Ikea store without a plan, the AI assistant failed to help users find the products they wanted and offer tips on how to decorate their rooms.
One user, an Ikea customer, said, “I thought Ikea’s AI assistant would be a good way to make the experience less tiring. “This is part of Ikea’s pitch to potential users, but I found Ikea GPT was not a good partner for interior design.” said.
These developments reveal the need to better understand the role and potential of artificial intelligence in the retail industry. Ikea is expected to learn from the failures of its artificial intelligence assistant in its future innovations.
Communication difficulties and web redirects
Ikea’s artificial intelligence assistant, called GPT Store, is designed to answer and assist customers with questions, but it is causing mixed reactions among users.
One user wrote, “I need storage ideas for my small living room/bedroom.” While sharing his experience, which started with the question, he stated that the assistant did not meet expectations. Instead of answering the user’s question, the assistant directed them to an article on the Ikea website and added a photo of the living room. However, it remains unclear whether the photo was produced by artificial intelligence.
Similarly, when another user asked for information about bathroom storage, the assistant again directed them to the website. Moreover, when asked for information about bins, the assistant offered an inadequate answer, only linking to specific product pages.
However, there were also some positive experiences among users. For example, when a user asked what a Kallax shelf would look like in their home, the assistant provided an image created with GPT-4 and DALL-E 3 integration. In addition, successful responses were received to requests made with more specific information.
However, communication problems with some users continued. When a user asked if a specific bedside table model was available at the Brooklyn store, the assistant reportedly got stuck in spinning wheel mode and eventually had to go to the website to get information.
Website and experience review
Swedish furniture giant Ikea observed that it was more effective to use its website to provide design inspiration to its customers. The company offers more design options by directing customers to its website instead of the artificial intelligence assistant called GPT Store.
By constantly reminding users to click on links on the website, Ikea’s AI assistant actually failed to provide customers with the expected support. This defeated the assistant’s purpose and demonstrated limitations on its ability to assist customers directly rather than direct them to the website.
However, there are some users who see a potential solution in Ikea’s GPT. Those who struggle with the fact that Ikea stores can be overwhelming at times state that the ability to ask questions about products in Ikea Marketplace can be quite useful for ChatGPT Plus users. This means that when customers need help, they can get help directly from the AI assistant instead of calling human staff.
Ikea’s interest in technology is known for offering smart home products in recent years and introducing the virtual home design feature in the Ikea Kreativ application in 2022. However, there may be no personal requirement regarding the use of Ikea GPT. Some users note that the assistant will stick to catalogs and not replace the extensive options on the website.
Although Ikea AI Assistant is currently only accessible to ChatGPT Plus users in the United States, it is stated that Ingka Group plans to expand access to wider geographies in the near future.
Compiled by: Ayça Ayaz
