
Lowe's AI assistant Mylow has answered 25 million questions.
Online shoppers who use it convert at three times the rate of non-users.
Home Depot's Magic Apron offers similar project-specific shopping advice.
What happened
Lowe's AI shopping assistant, Mylow, has fielded more than 25 million questions since launch, and online shoppers who use it convert at three times the rate of those who don't, CEO Marvin Ellison said on the company's Aug. 19 second-quarter earnings call.
Why it matters
Mylow turns vague problems like "my faucet is leaking" into specific, purchasable product lists, giving AI a direct role in building the cart before a purchase. Home Depot's Magic Apron, built with Google Cloud's Gemini models, does the same: it recommends the right grout for glass tiles, shows where to find it in store, and suggests additional materials.
What to watch
Online sales grew 15.7% year over year, the second straight quarter above 15%. Consumer readiness is rising: 45% say they'd be comfortable letting an AI agent complete a purchase on their behalf, rising to 54% among Gen Z, and 81% of retailers trust AI to act autonomously with the right guardrails.
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Lowe's and Home Depot are both betting that the real product isn't the answer, but the finished cart. Most retail AI tools built in recent years focus on answering FAQs or resolving service issues after a purchase, work that cuts cost but doesn't shape what ends up in a cart. Mylow and Magic Apron sit earlier in the process, translating a vague, real-world problem into a structured basket of products before a transaction happens.
Ellison credited the online sales growth to tailored digital experiences, expanded visualization tools, marketplace growth and new fulfillment options alongside Mylow's contribution. Joe Cano, Lowe's senior vice president of digital commerce, told OpenAI in a post about the partnership: "Most people don't come to our site with a product in mind. They come with a problem. The tool figures out what they mean, and helps them finish the job."
Consumer comfort with autonomous AI purchasing appears to be building. The PYMNTS Intelligence and Worldpay collaborative study, "Agents of Change," found that 45% of consumers would be comfortable letting an AI agent complete a purchase on their behalf, rising to 54% among Gen Z. This suggests that assistants like Mylow and Magic Apron may be aligning with a broader shift in how shoppers expect to buy.
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