Driven by generative AI, voice and image, e-commerce search is entering a new era. On the sidelines of AI Day, held on February 10, 2026 in Paris, Xavier Grand, CTO of Algolia, outlines a 2026 roadmap in an exclusive interview. This covered hybridising classic search with conversational interfaces, as initiatives like Rufus at Amazon are redefining retailers' search experience standards.
Between AI chatbots and enhanced search bars (voice, image), where do retailers stand in merging search portals?
Retailers are very divided because the topic is complex. For years, e-shoppers have been used to searching by keywords in a search bar. On one hand, this existing experience must be maintained, and on the other, new usages are emerging, with conversational interfaces and increasingly customers using voice for searches. All this creates much longer searches. Previously, these types of
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Article authors
Sophie Baqué
Chief Editor of mind Retail