America’s Guitar Center chain has launched Rig Advisor, making it the first music retailer to introduce an AI-powered shopping assistant directly to the store floor.
The largest musical instrument retailer in the US, Guitar Center’s Rig Advisor is a mobile-based tool that helps customers ‘discover, compare and explore gear in real time by prioritising products available at that specific store location’, giving musicians an easy way to navigate options and make more decisions, whether browsing solo or working with a store expert.
‘Rig Advisor is like having a professional consultant in the palm of your hand, delivering lightning-fast answers as you explore our music stores,’ says Guitar Center CEO, Gabe Dalporto. ‘It will turn our stores into tech-powered music hubs where creativity, curiosity and inspiration lead the way.’
Rig Advisor is intended to make music retail a more inspiring and intuitive experience, whether customers just started out or building a next professional rig. Customers scan a QR code in-store, type in an artist, song, tone, or gear-related question, and Rig Advisor delivers instant recommendations based on what is in stock at that specific location.
The app allows side-by-side comparisons of similar gear, as well as indicating what a particular store has available to try in person that day. It also has multilingual support that automatically responds in the language customers use without the need to adjust settings.
Unlike traditional e-commerce filters or backend tools, Rig Advisor was built specifically for an in-store experience, ‘putting inspiration, education and creativity front and centre to help musicians shop with confidence’.
Rig Advisor is available now at Guitar Center stores US-wide.