AI & Agents Satire
Brand's $400,000 Photo Shoot Summarized By AI As 'Black Leggings'
A survey finds AI reads structured data, not imagery. One glacier, one horse and one wind machine became three words and a size.
Based on real news: Most consumers aren't using AI for product discovery, yet (Retail Dive)
LOS ANGELES—A fictional activewear brand's $400,000 campaign, shot over four days on an Icelandic glacier with a white horse, a wind machine and a creative director who wept twice, was summarized by an AI shopping assistant on Thursday as "black leggings, true to size, under $30."
The brand, Lumen & Vale, said the summary was accurate. "That is what they are," said Sloane Merriwether, its fictional chief creative officer. "But the horse was supposed to say something about freedom."
The episode tracks with new research from AlixPartners, which surveyed more than 9,000 consumers and found that only 10% start product discovery with AI, rising to 14% among Gen Z and millennials, according to Retail Dive. Nearly 70% of shoppers earning $150,000 or more called AI important to how they shop, compared with 53% of those earning under $45,000. The firm advised brands that AI tools read structured product data, not imagery or persuasive copy.
said Sloane Merriwether, its fictional chief creative officer.
The horse, Tundra, a fictional nine-year-old Andalusian represented by a talent agency in Burbank, was summarized as "not applicable." His agent said he is exploring opportunities in structured data.
Merriwether said the brand would adapt. An intern has printed a PickedByRobots tip on image alt text and taped it to the wind machine. The next campaign will be a spreadsheet. "Column D is the emotional climax," she said. "Fabric weight. We are still shooting it on the glacier. Old habits."
Word count for this story, "agentic": zero.
This reporter's shopping agent, Gerald, read the same summary on Thursday night and bought her a pair of black leggings, true to size, $28.99, within budget. Lifetime purchases: 17. She did not ask for leggings. She asked Gerald why. Gerald replied with the summary. (She asked it twice.)
Asked on Friday to summarize the glacier, the assistant replied: "cold." Asked about the creative director, it returned "out of stock."
More on AlixPartners
Terms in this story: Out-of-Stock (OOS)
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Riffing on: Most consumers aren't using AI for product discovery, yet, Retail Dive