Online resale platform for apparel, shoes, and accessories Thredup has launched a new suite of AI-powered shopping tools aimed at transforming customer experiences in finding fashion items.  

The platform's marketplace, with more than four million items, now offers more personalised and accessible shopping options. 

The AI-powered search is based on advanced machine learning algorithms that understand natural language and visual cues and continuously learn and improve to provide the most relevant and personalised results.  

The new suite offers three features enabling shoppers to curate style inspiration and develop customised outfits using text descriptions or images. 

The suite’s improved search feature allows customers to use natural language to find items like "floral dresses" or "light pink knee-length dresses with ruffles."  

Shoppers can also specify requests such as "swimsuit for a triathlon" or "tank tops for the 4th of July". 

The image search feature enables customers to upload a photo or snap a picture to find matching or similar items in ThredUp's inventory, facilitating the recreation of a look or discovery of new styles based on visual preferences. 

The suite also introduces a new AI-powered chatbot that assists customers in creating complete outfits. 

By inputting a prompt such as "outfit for an autumn wedding," the chatbot generates a head-to-toe look, which can be refined by colour and style to suit personal tastes. 

ThredUp CEO James Reinhart said: "AI presents an enormous leap forward for secondhand shopping by bringing emotion and storytelling to the millions of unique shopping journeys that happen regularly on ThredUp. 

“Given the breadth of our offering with millions of unique items available in our marketplace at any given time, generative AI technology is accelerating how we’re changing the way consumers shop and providing the easiest and most fun way to shop sustainably.” 

The new shopping has been made accessible to customers from 5 August 2024.