When it comes to artificial intelligence, it’s hard sometimes to separate hype from reality. While there are plenty of industry leaders who believe the tech is going to be a game changer, there are others who urge caution, like Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky, who recently warned an audience of tech workers that the hype could lead to a new dotcom bubble.

It helps that the conversation isn’t strictly speculative anymore. A number of companies are rolling out AI-powered tech applications right now—and that’s no less true for retailers. The industry has been quick to adapt generative AI in particular, which is the use of algorithms to create content ranging from a customer service interaction to a product description.

To help bring some of this buzz down to earth, Retail Brew put together this rundown of the ways major retailers are putting generative AI, or GenAI as it’s known, into practice in real time.

Keep reading here.—AV

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What we have here is a case of parallel bars. To promote a new line of bar soap, Dove, the Unilever brand, recently hosted a two-day pop-up bar in New York City.

The new line, Dove Plant Milk Cleansing Bars, already sounds less like soap than beverages, with varieties including Coconut Milk & Sugar Lychee, Oat Milk & Berry Brulee, and Turmeric Milk & Lemon Drop.

Dove is calling the line its “first premium bar range,” and is pricing it accordingly with an MSRP of $5.99 for a 5-ounce bar, or $1.20 per ounce. A two-pack of the Dove original bar totaling 7.5 ounces, by contrast, is currently $3.99 at Target, or 53 cents per ounce.

The pop-up bar was technically more of a takeover of another bar, Dante, the Greenwich Village landmark which opened in 1915. For two days beginning February 22, a sign on the bar’s front window declared it The Dove Deluxe Bar.

Keep reading here.—AAN

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Danielle Buckley is director of product, consumer shopping at Google.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? I help shoppers find what they’re looking for on Google Search. My team is responsible for the features that show up on Google whenever you do a shopping search—whether you’re looking for a dress for your holiday party, upgraded pedals for your bike, or a blender for your smoothies. We tap into the “Shopping Graph,” our ML-powered dataset of the world’s shopping information, to surface the right articles, products, brands, and retailers, along with insights and tools for better decision-making.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? Work takes up so much of our time and energy that it’s always been really important to me to help create a fun and supportive environment. Outside my day job as a product leader, I enjoy spending my time with folks who are earlier in their career helping them think through their challenges. I’m also the co-chair of the Women PM steering group, where I get the opportunity to help create a sense of community and nurture the development of women product managers at Google.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? I loved working on Google’s AI-based virtual try-on tool for apparel. The main thing I look for in any new technology is: What real, hard problems can it solve for people?

Keep reading here.—EC