Michaels Launches AI Shopping Assistant 'Ask Mike' Powered by Google Cloud's Gemini — The Michaels Companies, Inc.

Event summary

Michaels launched 'Ask Mike', an AI-powered shopping assistant built with Google Cloud's Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience, on July 21, 2026.
The tool has generated nearly 75,000 conversations since its May release, with over 60% of interactions focused on product discovery.
Ask Mike transforms traditional search into a guided, creative dialogue, allowing users to describe their creative vision for personalized recommendations.
Michaels plans to expand Ask Mike's capabilities, including AI-driven product overviews and contextual prompts integrated into product detail pages.

The big picture

Michaels' launch of Ask Mike underscores the accelerating retail trend of embedding generative AI into core shopping experiences. The rapid development cycle—from concept to production in six weeks—highlights how cloud infrastructure investments are enabling faster AI deployment. This move positions Michaels as a potential leader in AI-driven customer experience, though sustained differentiation will depend on continuous innovation and measurable conversion impacts.

What we're watching

Adoption Pace: How quickly Michaels can scale Ask Mike's usage beyond initial engagement metrics.
Competitive Response: Whether rival retailers will accelerate their own AI-driven shopping tools in response.
Feature Expansion: The pace at which Michaels integrates advanced AI features like product overviews and contextual prompts.