In the latest excerpt from our Luxury Insights Report into Art, AI, and the Future of Creativity, we take a look at how artificial intelligence is transforming the luxury sector - not as a replacement for human expertise, but as a powerful tool to enhance creativity, personalisation and customer engagement.

In hospitality, Marriott International is leveraging AI behind the scenes to refine decision-making, enhance marketing, and solve operational challenges while ensuring that human interaction remains at the heart of the guest experience. Meanwhile, in luxury retail, platforms like 1stDibs are using machine learning to personalise shopping journeys, bringing online discovery closer to the tailored experience of in-store purchasing. Across the industry, the focus is not just on adopting AI, but on using it responsibly to complement the craftsmanship, exclusivity, and storytelling that define luxury.

Read on for the full contributions from two of our experts:

"We are excited about any opportunities that will result in a better customer experience, but our approach is always to leverage technology that complements and enhances, not replaces, the human interactions between our guests and associates.

"Today, we use AI behind the scenes in various areas of the business to aid decision-making and enhance our marketing, to solve customer and operational pain points and develop new opportunities.  For example, as part of our Design Lab for Innovation, Marriott has created an AI Incubator with some of our most passionate associates and external partners in this space to test and learn.

"We have spent a number of years organising and structuring our data to improve operations, targeting and personalisation. We are now partnering with industry leaders and experimenting with use cases as the technology evolves and guardrails develop.

"We know that the technology will mature and we will be ready to take advantage of it when it does but we need to use AI in a responsible way. Marriott has already issued Generative AI guidelines to associates to ensure activity complies with our policies and standards."

Helen Leighton: Vice President, Luxury Brands, EMEA, Marriott International

"AI unlocks opportunities to more effectively personalise the luxury buying experience with machine learning (ML)-based recommendation systems that learn to highlight the most relevant products for buyers making highly considered purchases.

"In addition, AI enhances consumer research by providing richer item details and pricing insights. ML-based personalisation brings online luxury shopping closer to a tailored in-store experience, while data-driven insights offer unique value that sets the digital experience apart in compelling ways."

Ryan Beauchamp, Chief Product Officer, 1stDibs

Click here to read the report in full.

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