David’s Bridal shoppers can now make purchases within ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot, another signal that retail at large is headed on an AI-enabled path.

• 71.5% of consumers say they would consider making a purchase, including payment, using an AI chat app, according to a December 2025 Valtech survey.
• Widespread adoption of end-to-end agentic commerce would drive US ecommerce sales to $1.999 trillion by 2030, a $206 billion increase over baseline projections, EMARKETER forecasts.

David’s Bridal defines its shopper as the “household CEO,” said chief technology officer Scott Saeger, or a group that reflects broader shopper preferences.

“She’s not looking for another shopping interface,” said Saeger. “She’s looking for leverage, and conversational AI allows her to do that.”

Inside the David’s Bridal arrangement

David’s Bridal is using Shopify’s agentic software to bring its catalog to ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot.

“We didn’t bolt AI into a legacy stack, which is where I think people are starting to realize there are failure points,” said Saeger. “We rebuilt the data layer first, and AI was the natural output of that data layer.”

For Saeger, using AI strategically meant working with Shopify instead of building its own platform.

“I want to be very thoughtful and surgical about what we build,” he said. “I don’t have a billion-dollar budget for IT, so what I’d rather do is leverage somebody else’s knowledge and we’ll tweak it.”

Tailoring AI to maintain shopper trust

The retailer audited thousands of product attributes, including neckline, silhouette, and chain, into an LLM-readable catalog, said Saeger.

Bringing in its own data is key to defending the brand against hallucinations; an error like a dress with the wrong size inventory “kills that trust instantly.”

“We didn’t just throw ChatGPT or Copilot into our ecosystem and say ‘Go figure it out,’’’ he said. “The model can only speak from our verified catalog and our policy data.”

Consumers are becoming more comfortable with AI, but there’s still notable friction.

• 42% of US adults are somewhat or very likely to let an AI agent make a purchase on their behalf, according to an August 2025 YouGov survey, but that leaves a majority (58%) who are not at all likely or not very likely to do so.

The retailer doesn't expect AI to take over its brick-and-mortar business. The value of initial discovery and bringing brides in-store is obvious for David’s Bridal, said Saeger.

“I don’t think this is going to completely replace commerce, but I think it’s where the brides are going to go to start that initial conversation,” he said.

Divorcing hype from innovation

The move is part of the brand’s “Aisle to Algorithm" initiative, which includes its Pearl Media Network and Pearl Planner, an AI-powered, customized wedding planning platform.

The AI tool’s goal is consumer retention, as there are additional choices a bride must make between picking the dress and walking down the aisle.

Amid growing retail AI adoptions, Saeger considers whether investments address concrete business goals.

“Every AI investment ties back to one of three outcomes for me: revenue, operational efficiencies, or lifetime value,” said Saeger. “If it doesn’t tie back to one of those, to me it’s just noise.”

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