Tell Us What You're Looking For: Building AI Into SUFIF

Most online stores start with a catalogue, and the customer does the work: scroll, filter, compare, guess the size, decide. We want SUFIF to start with the customer.

Start with what the customer needs, not with the catalogue

We are building an AI layer into the SUFIF website and app. A customer can describe what they want in their own words, by typing or by voice:

• "A panjabi for Eid, something elegant but not too heavy."
• "An office shirt in a light colour, size L, under 2,500 taka."
• "What waistcoat goes with this panjabi?"

The AI understands the request and shows the right pieces: matching designs, complete looks, sizes that are actually in stock, and offers that apply to that customer. Nobody has to dig through categories. The customer picks, confirms and checks out in a few taps. If they know exactly what they want, it takes seconds. If they don't, it feels like talking to a good salesperson who knows every piece in the store.

We have already started down this road with voice search and barcode scanning on the new SUFIF site. Conversational AI is the next step.

The same intelligence works behind the scenes

Every search, every conversation and every order is also a signal. On the back end, we are using AI to turn those signals into insight our team can act on:

• What people ask for and can't find. Unmet demand tells us what to design and produce next.
• What sells, where, and in which sizes. Better stock planning across our outlets means fewer missed sales and less dead stock.
• Which combinations customers love. We use these to build looks, bundles and offers that actually work.
• Customer insight with respect. We can see which members are growing with us and look after them better.
• Answers in plain language. Managers don't need to read dashboards; they can ask a question and get an answer.

A fashion business runs on hundreds of small decisions every day: what to produce, where to send it, what to promote. Better information makes each of those decisions a little better, and over a season that adds up.

Why we are doing this

At SUFI Group, every venture should serve people well and create good, dignified work. AI is not here to replace our team. It handles the repetitive parts, so our designers, showroom staff and service team can spend their time on what people remember: the quality, the fit and the care.

SUFIF is where we are building this experience first. What we learn here will shape how we use AI across our other businesses.

What's next

We are building this step by step: first conversational discovery and fast ordering on the website and app, then deeper insight tools for our team. We will share what works and what we learn along the way.

Next time you visit SUFIF, try telling us what you're looking for. We are building the system so it can listen.

— Faisal Mahfuz