Why Most AI Tools Fail Retailers (And What Actually Works)

Not all “AI” is built the same—and most tools on the market today simply aren’t built for retail.

In this episode, Cimulate Co-Founder and CTO Vivek Farias breaks down the two dominant types of “AI” tools retailers are being sold—and why neither is designed to handle real-world product discovery at scale.

🧠 You’ll learn:

Why vector search ≠ generative AI

What’s actually going on behind those ChatGPT-style site chatbots

Why “wrapping ChatGPT” around a store doesn’t solve product discovery

How Cimulate tackles 100K+ SKUs with intent-matching LLMs

Why scale, context, and precision matter more than gimmicks

💡 “If your AI tool can’t understand 100,000 products—and return the right 10—it’s not a retail solution. It’s a toy.”

The future of AI in commerce isn’t about buzzwords. It’s about intent-aware, scalable, real-time product discovery—and most tools simply aren’t ready.