Michaels Launched an AI Shopping Assistant in Six Weeks

Michaels formally launched Ask Mike on July 21, 2026, an AI-powered shopping assistant built with Google Cloud's Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience that had already been live since May and generated nearly 75,000 conversations before the company made the announcement public.

The 75,000 conversations figure covers roughly six to eight weeks of availability before the formal launch, according to the press release. 

More than 60% of those interactions were focused on product discovery, shoppers describing what they want to make or celebrate and receiving curated product recommendations rather than search results to filter. 

The examples Michaels cited illustrate the use case: "help me plan my child's birthday party" and "I need a fabric for DIY curtains" are queries that a keyword search engine cannot answer meaningfully but that a conversational AI can resolve with a product recommendation tailored to the stated intent.

"In just a few weeks, Ask Mike has fueled nearly 75,000 conversations, with our community using the tool for everything from party planning to finding the right materials for their first punch-needle pillow," said Heather Bennett, President and Chief Customer Officer at Michaels. "Ask Mike is more than just a search tool; it's a personalized creative partner for our customers so they can find what they need to bring their unique visions to life."

The deployment timeline is the detail that Google Cloud chose to highlight in its own statement. Paul Tepfenhart, Global Director of Retail Industry Strategy and Solutions at Google Cloud, confirmed that Michaels moved from concept to production-grade AI in six weeks, made possible, he said, by the multi-year Google Cloud infrastructure investment already in place at Michaels before the project began.

"Seeing a retailer move from concept to a production-grade AI in just six weeks is a signal of where the industry is heading," Tepfenhart said. "Michaels is showing what it looks like to put AI at the center of the shopping experience, not just as a service tool, but as a true driver of discovery and conversion."

The six-week timeline is notable because most enterprise AI deployments in retail have taken considerably longer, and the speed reflects the advantage of building on existing cloud infrastructure rather than starting from scratch. 

Michaels plans to extend Ask Mike further, with AI-driven product overviews and contextual prompts integrated directly into product detail pages as future enhancements, according to the press release.

The launch arrives as PYMNTS Intelligence research shows almost half of ecommerce shoppers now use AI to research purchases before buying, with consumer trust remaining strong through discovery and research but dropping when agents move closer to completing a transaction autonomously.