Choosing a bottle of wine should feel like speaking to an expert, not searching the shelves. For a specialist wine merchant, that expertise is what sets them apart, but even the best team can't be beside every customer at the moment they need advice.
So we built an AI Retail Concierge: an AI sommelier-style experience on an iPad or in-store touchscreen that guides customers to the right bottle through a simple, natural conversation, based on taste, occasion, food pairing and budget.
Independent wine merchants have something the supermarkets don't: knowledge. Ask a member of staff what goes with venison, whether a Barolo needs decanting, or what to try if you usually drink New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, and they'll have the perfect answer. The problem isn't the expertise, it's making it available to every customer, all day. When the shop is busy, people browse alone, some leave without asking, and others buy something safe because they haven't the confidence to try something new.
We designed an AI Retail Concierge that feels less like using technology and more like chatting to a knowledgeable member of the team. Customers simply start a conversation, and it recommends wines from the retailer's own catalogue, explaining why each bottle has been chosen rather than just displaying products. The result is a more personal experience that encourages people to explore with confidence.
It doesn't replace the conversation, it starts it. Someone after a dinner-party bottle asks exactly what they'd ask a member of staff. Someone buying a gift doesn't have to guess. Someone curious can explore without feeling intimidated. By the time a staff member joins in, the customer already has a shortlist and a clearer idea of what they want, so the team's time goes on the conversations that matter, not the same introductory questions.
The experience feels simple, but there's a lot happening underneath. The concierge is grounded in the retailer's catalogue, tasting notes, regions, producers, pairings and pricing, combined with carefully designed instructions (retrieval-augmented generation) so recommendations stay helpful, accurate and true to the retailer's own expertise. Rather than trying to sound clever, it focuses on advice customers can trust.
Natural conversation that understands taste, occasion, budget and food pairing.
Every pick explained in plain English, so customers understand why it fits.
Only recommends products currently in stock, keeping every suggestion accurate.
Introduces similar regions, grapes and producers a customer might never have tried.
Designed for iPads and in-store kiosks, clean and approachable for anyone to use.
Starts the conversation, so staff join in with the customer already part of the way there.
confident purchases, as customers buy something they understand rather than something safe.
discovery, and average basket value, as guided suggestions open up new bottles.
of the team's time for the conversations that matter, not the introductory ones.
No. It is conversational AI grounded in the retailer's real catalogue that reasons about each request, recommends specific in-stock products, explains why each one fits, and learns what customers want over time. A world away from a static touchscreen menu.
No. It starts the conversation rather than ending it. Customers arrive at a staff member with a shortlist and a clearer idea of what they want, so the team spends more time on meaningful advice and less on the same introductory questions.
No. It is connected to the live catalogue, so it only recommends what is actually available, keeping every suggestion relevant and accurate.
Yes. The same concierge becomes a whisky advisor, a garden-centre assistant, a luxury-retail concierge or a home-improvement guide. Same story, different catalogue, trained on your products and your tone.
We build AI concierges grounded in your real catalogue and live stock, for any specialist retailer, from wine and whisky to garden centres and homeware. An AI sommelier-style experience that gives every customer expert help at once, and starts the conversation your team is there to finish.