- Disney Store is beta testing a new AI personal shopping assistant
- The conversational tool can recommend products, gifts, and other items.
- I tried him early and he is very knowledgeable about the Disney universes.
If you’ve used the Disney Store app recently, you’ll know that it’s received a steady stream of updates over the past few months, from push notifications for limited edition releases to a faster, easier-to-navigate interface.
Now the Disney Store is taking it a step further with a feature designed to make finding the right product a little more intuitive, and we have an exclusive first look. It’s called the Disney Store Personal AI Shopping Assistant, and it’s a conversational AI shopping tool built right into the app. It allows users to describe what they are looking for in natural language rather than relying on traditional keyword searching, although the standard search experience will remain in the app.
The shopping assistant is currently available as a beta test for a select portion of registered users of the Disney Store app for iOS in the United States. 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 for a later date.
To see how well it works, I first asked her for gift ideas for a niece who loves Jessie from Toy Story, along with some fun toys to go with a classic doll. After a brief pause, it returned a select set of suggestions tailored to that character, each with brief explanations of why they fit the message. Instead of standard search results, it looked more like a personalized recommendation stream.
At first glance, the assistant doesn’t look like a separate feature built into the app. Instead, it is integrated directly into the existing search experience. A new magnifying glass icon with a subtle glow now sits in the top left corner of the home screen, taking you to search, where Disney asks users “Need ideas? Ask our AI-powered personal shopping assistant.”
Once inside, you are taken to a conversational interface. In my test, it started with: “Hi Jacob, how can I help?” followed by a handful of suggested directions to get you started. From there, it behaves more like a shopping assistant than a traditional search bar, designed to understand natural language requests, whether you’re searching for gifts, planning outfits for a visit to the Disney parks, or tracking down products tied to specific characters or franchises.
In practice, it feels responsive and surprisingly aware of the broader Disney universe: not just iconic characters like Mickey Mouse or Stitch, but also darker references, new additions to the catalog, and park-related and age-appropriate suggestions.
“Our focus is always on enhancing the guest journey and meeting our fans wherever they are,” said Patrick Sager, vice president of Disney Stores. “By introducing an AI-powered shopping assistant to the Disney Store app, we’re combining 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 zoomed in for more details or added directly to a shopping bag, reducing friction between browsing and purchasing. The assistant also encourages exploration with follow-up prompts. After an initial consultation, it suggests improvements like “show Jessie dolls” or “show more stuffed toys,” helping users narrow down results without having to start over. Of course, you can also write a follow-up or take it in a completely new direction.
Disney says the assistant was developed internally and built within its own ecosystem of characters, stories and products. No guest data was used during development and that will continue to be the case in the future.
Beyond the conversational layer, Disney has also built in standard usability features: thumbs up/thumb ratings, which will likely be used to refine the experience over time, the ability to clear chat at any time, and toggle between light and dark modes.
The Disney Store’s AI personal shopping assistant feels like an early pilot feature in Disney’s broader push toward AI-powered experiences, one that follows recently announced AI enhancements within the My Disney Experience app at Walt Disney World, as well as Disney’s exit from its deal with OpenAI.
While those efforts focus on planning and in-park experiences, the Disney Store implementation brings the same idea to retail. The common thread is that Disney appears to be exploring how AI can support different parts of its ecosystem, using conversational tools to showcase products while keeping everything anchored 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 simply overlaying it on top of a generic AI chatbot. I’m really curious to see how it evolves as new characters or franchises are introduced, as we see new product releases, and as we get closer to the holiday season. Who knows, maybe Disney will add a sale alert or a restocking feature.
If you try it, let me know what you think of the experience in the comments below.
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