Retailer Upgrades Site Search with AI Assistant: What Shoppers Should Know
Rugs Direct and Lightopia Introduce Conversational AI Shopping Tools
Two home furnishings retailers under Elevated Brands Group have launched AI-powered shopping assistants designed to make browsing and purchasing easier. Rugs Direct rolled out its Ask Cleo assistant in early June, following a May debut on sister company Lightopia’s website. The tool uses conversational AI to help shoppers describe what they want and receive personalized product suggestions.
How the AI Assistant Works for Shoppers
Ask Cleo functions in two distinct ways across both retailer sites. The AI Shopping Assistant operates as a site-wide search tool that lets customers describe items conversationally instead of typing traditional keyword searches. The Product Insights Agent appears on individual product pages to answer specific questions about that item.
On Rugs Direct, shoppers can ask Ask Cleo questions about materials, thickness, and dimensions. On Lightopia’s lighting-focused site, customers tend to use more technical queries, such as dimmability options, ceiling height compatibility, bulb types, and color temperature. The assistant can even help solve practical design challenges, like finding the right fixture for a vaulted ceiling.
Built by technology partner Constructor, Ask Cleo was trained using company blog posts, product specifications, and content created for search engine optimization. The training process took approximately four to six weeks, though speed depends on available resources.
Early Results Show Strong Shopper Engagement
Initial performance data is encouraging. Shoppers who use Ask Cleo show add-to-cart rates 8 to 9 times higher than those using traditional search methods. However, company leadership notes this higher rate comes from a smaller user base, since the majority of customers still rely on classic search tools.
The company has observed a clear pattern: customers who ask more questions through the AI assistant show higher key performance indicators overall, including stronger add-to-cart and purchase rates. Sharon Gautschi, chief merchandising officer at Elevated Brands Group, emphasized that the signals suggest real engagement and purchase intent.
Gautschi described the desired customer experience with Ask Cleo as talking to a “well-informed friend with great design, style and taste.” Rather than simply saying “here’s your product,” the assistant offers advice and design considerations to help shoppers make confident choices. The company regularly tests Ask Cleo’s responses and provides feedback to refine its answers.
Data Quality and Brand Voice Matter
Successful AI performance depends on clean, accurate product information. Elevated Brands Group maintains tight data integrity standards, ensuring product specifications stay current across the entire catalog. This attention to detail allows Ask Cleo to provide reliable answers and maintain brand voice consistently. The company’s smaller size gives it an advantage in staying nimble with data updates, which larger retailers sometimes struggle to manage.
Both retailers are also exploring how AI platforms themselves drive traffic and sales. You can explore every deal category we track to understand how different retailers approach customer engagement. Additionally, Ace Hardware Expands Advertising Platform: What Shoppers Should Know About Retailer Changes shows how other retailers are adapting their technology strategies.
AI Platform Traffic Is Growing but Still Limited
Rugs Direct and Lightopia are beginning to receive referral traffic from AI chat platforms such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity. Currently, this traffic represents less than 10 percent of visitor sessions at both sites. For smaller retailers competing against giants like Wayfair and Walmart, every traffic source matters. Gautschi sees significant room for growth in AI referrals and expects that increasingly qualified traffic from AI sources could deliver better return on investment than traditional digital advertising.
As more consumers use AI chat platforms for shopping research and product discovery, retailers that optimize their presence and product information for these channels gain a competitive edge. Major Retailers Launch New Campaigns and Partnerships This Week: What Shoppers Should Know covers how the broader retailer landscape continues to evolve.
What This Means for Online Shoppers
The introduction of conversational AI tools on retailer sites reflects a broader shift toward more natural, helpful shopping experiences. Customers can now ask questions the way they’d speak to a knowledgeable salesperson rather than struggling with keyword searches. For shoppers buying rugs or lighting fixtures, this means faster answers about product details, design fit, and specifications.
As these tools improve, shoppers should expect similar AI assistance to roll out across more retailer sites in home furnishings and other categories. The early success at Rugs Direct and Lightopia demonstrates that conversational AI can simplify decision-making and increase confidence in online purchases, particularly for complex products that require technical knowledge or design considerations.