Michaels says Google-powered AI assistant doubles conversion rate of traditional search

AI Strategies // July 24, 2026 Michaels says Google-powered AI assistant doubles conversion rate of traditional search By Mitchell Parton Ivy Liu One of the best-known arts and crafts retailers in the U. S. has lifted the curtain on how its new Google Gemini-powered AI assistant has performed so far.

Michaels formally announced “Ask Mike” — its first customer-facing AI shopping assistant — on July 21. Ask Mike aims to answer shopper questions and respond to prompts such as “Help me plan my kid’s birthday party,” “Kids’ summer craft ideas,” “I need fabric for DIY curtains,” and “I need a frame for my vacation photo.”

It asks for details like project type, colors, materials and budget. Ask Mike exists within the retailer’s website on desktop and mobile as well as its iOS and Android apps. The assistant has had 75,000 conversations since it quietly launched in May, according to Michaels.

The company revealed that it built the tool using Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience, a software package that other retailers such as Ulta Beauty, Macy’s and The Home Depot have used to create AI-powered shopping functions.

Shoppers who engage with Ask Mike are converting — as in making a purchase online after the interaction — at a rate more than double that of those using traditional search methods, Heather Bennett, president and chief customer officer at Michaels, told Modern Retail in an email.

The company also said that 27% of interactions lead to the customer clicking the product link or adding to cart. “Unlike traditional search, Ask Mike acts as a creative assistant that helps shoppers move seamlessly from inspiration to product discovery and cart action, driving much higher overall engagement,” Bennett said.

“Traditional search requires customers to break projects down into isolated keywords like ‘floral fabric’, leaving them to sift through the results themselves. With Ask Mike, shoppers use natural dialogue, asking complete questions like ‘help me plan a space-themed party,’ and the tool instantly curates the exact products and ideas they need.”

Bennett also said shoppers using the AI assistant are bundling core supplies and finishing touches all within one session — such as for throwing a party, framing or crafting — whereas those using traditional search are more often looking for a single item they already have in mind.

In a news release, Paul Tepfenhart, global director of retail industry strategy and solutions for Google Cloud, said the retailer moved from concept to production-grade AI in just six weeks.

Kapil Dabi, Americas lead of retail and CPG solutions for Google Cloud, told Modern Retail in an interview that Michaels achieved this quick turnaround because it already had a strong cloud infrastructure foundation on Google Cloud, and that it had modernized its technology stack and organized its product catalog in a way that is AI-ready.

“Beyond the technical foundation, I would say success also requires a clear point of view on the customer experience,” and knowledge of what great customer interaction looks like in the retailer’s respective industry, Dabi said. For example, Michaels knows customers may be trying to throw a birthday party and which products they’re looking for when doing so.

Dabi said retail is entering into a new era where conversational AI is becoming the primary interface between shoppers and brands, and where discovery is faster and searching is more intuitive and more personalized.

“Whether it’s hyper personalization, operational efficiency or [that retailers] want to be highly innovative, we use our AI, data analytics and cloud platform to help retailers unlock a one-to-one bespoke customer experience, or ensure every interaction is highly relevant and eventually drives loyalty,” Dabi said.