THE GHOST IN THE SHOPPING CART

Retailers are preparing for the $5 trillion moment when AI agents can shop for us. But teaching them taste is another matter.

- BY ELIZABETH SEGRAN

THE ASSIGNMENT IS CHARMING: I've been asked to moderate a panel in a garden in early summer. The problem is that it will require an outfit I don't currently own and have no time to find. Easy enough, I think. I use AI every day to summarize transcripts, synthesize financial data, and draft emails. Surely I can outsource this.

I open ChatGPT and ask it to find me a dress from my favorite label, Sézane, that's appropriate for an outdoor professional event. It pulls dresses from the French brand's catalog that are made of linen and crochetedfloaty, unstructured things that require a level of undergarment coordination I don't want to think about. I clarify. It pivots. After several rounds of negotiation, it finally surfaces a red polka-dot dress I like. There are no links. I go to Google, search manually, and discover that the dress is from last season and only available in a size 2 on Poshmark. Twenty minutes after starting my search with ChatGPT, I give up. I head over to Sézane's website and buy something the old-fashioned way.

AI has, in the span of a few years, displaced coders, passed the bar exam, and written term papers for an entire cohort of college students. Yet, the technology that's remaking civilization still can't help me buy a dress.