Coveo (TSX:CVO) announced on March 23, 2026 that it is rolling out Coveo Conversational Product Discovery, a new feature for its Commerce platforms suite. The capability embeds natural‑language dialogue directly into the search engine experience, allowing shoppers to describe what they need in plain text and receive product results that stay anchored to the retailer’s catalog.
Unlike many standalone AI chatbots that operate as separate touchpoints, this solution integrates conversation into the core search engine. Users can pose open‑ended queries—such as “lightweight running shoes for wet weather”—and instantly see curated product listings, with the option to refine results through follow‑up questions, compare specifications, or assemble complementary bundles.
“Shoppers don’t think in keywords,” said Peter Curran, general manager of Commerce at Coveo. “Imagine if someone walked into a store and just said ‘shoes’. Unfortunately, most digital stores can handle that only if they’re lucky.”
The feature is built on Coveo’s agentic orchestration architecture, which coordinates several AI models to interpret intent, pull relevant items from the retailer’s inventory, and format responses according to predefined merchandising rules. This design gives brands deterministic control over layout, content guardrails, and product prioritization while still leveraging generative AI for conversational fluency.
Key capabilities
- Natural‑language input for shopping intents.
- Immediate delivery of product results grounded in catalog data.
- Interactive refinement via follow‑up queries.
- Side‑by‑side product comparisons and attribute highlights.
- Ability to create bundles of related items within the dialog.
Strategic impact
The addition aims to convert exploratory traffic into measurable revenue by shortening the path from vague need to concrete purchase. By augmenting—not replacing—search, Coveo preserves the performance and relevance metrics that enterprises have optimized over years. Merchants retain full governance through policy‑driven AI execution, ensuring that promotional priorities and compliance constraints remain intact.
Benefits outlined by Coveo
- Drives revenue from early‑stage browsing by guiding shoppers toward curated selections.
- Keeps high‑speed search performance while offering conversational assistance.
- Maintains strict merchandising control via deterministic layouts and policy enforcement.
- Dynamically assembles responses that blend product listings, comparisons, and guidance.
- Reduces “dead‑end” experiences with proactive next‑step suggestions.
Industry context
As generative AI gains traction across retail, vendors are racing to embed large language models (LLMs) into front‑end experiences without sacrificing the data fidelity required for commerce. Coveo’s approach reflects a broader shift toward hybrid architectures that combine retrieval‑augmented generation with strict catalog grounding—a model that promises scalability, compliance, and lower latency compared with pure chatbot solutions.
Forward‑looking statement
The release contains forward‑looking information as defined by securities regulations. Statements about expectations, market positioning, and product impact reflect management’s current view and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Securities regulations may affect future outcomes.
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