- The Disney Store is beta testing a new AI Personal Shopping Assistant
- The conversational tool can recommend products, gifts and other things
- I tried it early and it is very knowledgeable about the Disney universes
If you’ve used the Disney Store app recently, you’ll know that it’s gotten a steady stream of updates over the past few months — from push notifications for limited editions to a faster, easier-to-navigate interface.
Now, the Disney Store is taking another step forward with a feature designed to make finding the right product a little more intuitive — and we’ve got an exclusive first look. Dubbed the Disney Store AI Personal Shopping Assistant, it’s a conversational AI shopping tool built right into the app. It lets users describe what they’re looking for in natural language instead of relying on traditional keyword search, although the default search experience remains in the app.
The shopping assistant is currently live as a beta test for a select portion of logged-in users on the Disney Store iOS app in the US. Disney says it will continue to learn from usage and refine the experience over time, with expansion to Android, DisneyStore.com and international markets planned at a later date.
To see how well it works, I first asked it for gift ideas for a niece who loves Jessie from Toy Story, along with some fun toys for a classic doll. After a short pause, it returned a select set of suggestions tailored to that character, each with brief explanations of why they fit the prompt. Instead of standard search results, it felt more like a tailored recommendation flow.
On the surface, the assistant doesn’t feel like a separate feature bolted onto the app. Instead, it is built directly into the existing search experience. A new magnifying glass icon with a subtle sparkle now sits in the top-left corner of the home screen, leading you into search, where Disney prompts users with “Need ideas? Ask our AI Personal Shopping Assistant.”
Once inside, it switches to a conversational interface. In my test, it opened with: “Hi Jacob, how can I help?” followed by a handful of suggested prompts to get started. From there, it behaves more like a shopping assistant than a traditional search bar, designed to understand natural language requests—whether you’re looking for gifts, planning outfits for a visit to Disney Parks, or tracking down items tied to specific characters or franchises.
In practice, it feels responsive and surprisingly aware of Disney’s wider universe—not just flagship characters like Mickey Mouse or Stitch, but also more obscure references, newer additions to the catalog, and park-related and age-appropriate propositions.
“Our focus is always on enhancing the guest journey and meeting our fans where they are,” said Patrick Sager, VP Disney Stores. “By introducing an AI-powered shopping assistant to the Disney Store app, we’re blending storytelling with technology, delivering smarter recommendations, seamless discovery and a more connected experience, making it easier than ever for guests to find the perfect product.”
Items can be expanded for more detail or added directly to a shopping bag, reducing the friction between browsing and purchasing. The assistant also encourages exploration through follow-up prompts. After an initial query, it suggests tweaks like “show Jessie dolls” or “show more plush toys” that help users narrow down results without starting over. Of course, you can also write a follow-up or take it in a completely new direction.
Disney says the assistant is developed in-house and built into its own ecosystem of characters, stories and products. No guest data was used during development, and this remains the case going forward.
In addition to the conversation layer, Disney has also built in standard usability features: thumbs up/down ratings — which will likely be used to refine the experience over time — the ability to clear the chat at any time, and a light and dark mode toggle.
The Disney Store AI Personal Shopping Assistant feels like an early pilot feature in Disney’s broader push into AI-powered experiences — one that follows recently announced AI enhancements to the My Disney Experience app at Walt Disney World, as well as Disney’s departure from its deal with OpenAI.
While these efforts focus on in-park planning and experiences, the implementation of the Disney Store brings the same idea into retail. The common thread is that Disney appears to be exploring how AI can support different parts of its ecosystem, using conversational tools to surface products while still keeping everything rooted in the characters and worlds that define the brand.
At this stage, it still feels experimental in places rather than fully defined, but it’s clear that Disney has thought about how it integrates into the existing shopping experience rather than just sitting on a generic AI chatbot. I’m very curious to see how it evolves as new characters or franchises are introduced, as we see new product launches, and as we get closer to the holiday season. Who knows, maybe Disney will add a deal alert or recharge functionality.
If you give it a try, let me know what you think of the experience in the comments below.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews and opinions in your feeds.
