4 days ago
Glance AI And Samsung Bring Personalized Shopping To The Lock Screen
Glance AI, an AI commerce platform which uses Google's Imagen 4 AI image generator from DeepMind, allows users to upload a selfie, then scroll through photorealistic renderings of themselves wearing clothing pulled from a marketplace of more than 400 brands. If they like what they see, they can purchase the item directly from the screen. In an interview with CNBC two weeks ago, CEO Naveen Tewari, CEO of Glance and InMobi, said "We are fundamentally launching an AI commerce platform that is going to disrupt shopping in the world."
Glance takes a selfie and turns it into a fashion model.
"It is to us an equivalent of an Uber moment,' Tewari continued, 'or more recently, a GPT moment. All of these are fundamental shifts in the way consumer experiences change in the world and I think Glance AI is exactly that for commerce." With powerful backers like Google and Jio, Glance is scaling quickly. Today they're announcing a new partnership with Samsung, Glance AI will now be available to over 50 million of Samsung phone users as a lock screen app, giving them access to AI-generated outfit recommendations based on a single selfie of themselves, too.
Glance AI says the platform also incorporates local data and trending topics to update recommendations in real time. The result is a feed of context-aware images designed to be both visually convincing and commercially actionable. Glance AI knows what you like. It knows what you click on. Connecting the algorithm that knows you to generative AI that creates a likeness of us, wearing anything, anywhere, creates a new kind of shopping experience we've not seen before.
Abhay SInghal, cofounder InMobi & Glance
Traditional virtual try-ons are user initiated. You pick a product and see how it looks on you. Glance AI flips that model, showing you in products you may have never considered, yet they feel instinctively right. The experience is less about validating a decision and more about sparking inspiration - all right from the convenience of your lock screen. 'It's about discovery and immediacy,' says Tewari. 'You're not searching for a product. You're reacting to an image of yourself in it.'
In an interview, Jason Shim, who leads the U.S. Galaxy Store for Samsung, said the goal is to offer something more dynamic than a standard app marketplace. 'We're trying to bring relevant, high-quality experiences to the forefront,' he said. 'Glance AI gives us a way to personalize that from the start, without requiring users to search or install anything.' Its Galaxy Store team is working directly with Glance AI to preload the feature on select phones.
Glance shaved twenty years and twenty pounds, making me look very fashionable indeed.
The Glance AI interface allows users to browse looks, save them, or set them as wallpaper. It also highlights limited-time offers and seasonal styles. The app is fully opt-in, and Glance AI says it does not retain user photos once a look has been generated. Still, if Glance AI, or GenA in generalI, can make you look like a movie star, it could make you look like… anything. Anyone with a photo of you can.
The company has committed $200 million to further develop Glance AI. It's not yet clear how much of that will go toward expansion beyond Samsung's ecosystem, though Tewari hinted at similar partnerships with other Android handset makers.
It's hard to resist a click when you're the star of the show!
Early coverage of Glance AI has emphasized its visual fidelity and responsiveness. In February, TechCrunch noted the company's push to bring generative tools out of sandbox demos and into daily use. More recently, Yahoo Tech reviewed the app's U.S. rollout, describing the interface as 'intuitive' and 'uncannily good at image placement.'
Lock screen content has long been associated with passive engagement like news headlines, and Uber updates. By adding personalized e-commerce to that list, it's safe to say Glance AIis taking us in a direction no e-commerce app has gone before.
