Algolia, the world’s only end-to-end AI Search platform, unveiled the launch of a new ‘Looking Similar’ capability as part of its AI Recommendations solution. Looking Similar is an AI model that analyzes images in a retailer’s catalog to find and recommend other items that are visually similar. This new image-based feature is easy to implement, takes just minutes to configure, and enhances conversion rates by providing online shoppers with a more visual browsing experience.

With Looking Similar, users can find items faster that fit a specific theme, vibe, style, mood, or space in the same way that a shopper might visually explore products in a brick-and-mortar store. These visual recommendations are particularly useful for shoppers when they come across out of stock items, are simply looking for inspiration, or find a style they like but want differently priced options.

Retailers and marketplaces can implement Algolia’s Looking Similar in minutes, and can analyze a catalog in seconds to generate hundreds of recommendations for each item. These recommendations can be further refined based on a number of preferred attributes such as ‘color’, ‘price’, and ‘size’ further empowering merchandisers.

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Bernadette Nixon, Chief Executive Officer, Algolia, noted: “Shoppers frequently enjoy browsing and invariably recognize what they want when they see it. For example, in a brick-and-mortar store, a shopper might stumble upon what they consider to be a nearly perfect peacoat-style jacket for themselves, only to continue browsing until they find another one that more closely matches what they like most (albeit with similar color, shape, and texture). In all likelihood, this second jacket may be labeled differently online. Traditionally, online retailers have struggled to replicate this browsing experience. With Algolia’s Looking Similar feature, we’re ushering in a new era of AI-driven omnichannel sophistication, acting as a crucial tool for retailers by encouraging shoppers to explore their online selections more thoroughly, showcasing visually similar items they might otherwise have missed.”

Looking Similar provides retailers with significant control and empowers them to establish thresholds for the “Similarity” of image matches, allowing them to create custom filters, specify the number of recommendations to be displayed, and ensure a specific level of image match similarity.

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