Shoppers entering apparel brand Ameri Vintage’s Tokyo store will be greeted by Adera, an artificially intelligent store assistant powered by One AI, an AI engine developed by local company 1Sec.

1Sec has its US operations in Los Angeles and Japanese operations in Tokyo and carries out XR software development and blockchain content development and production.

Ameri Vintage is operated by Japanese firm B Stone. Adera is inside its store in the Lumine Shinjuku 2 shopping mall in Tokyo.

One AI is an AI dialogue platform that enables face-to-face conversations by integrating physical real-time graphics with AI for functions such as speech recognition, video recognition and specialised conversations.

“I decided to employ Adera as Ameri’s virtual human as a new endeavour to encourage people to visit shops, as store traffic has slowed amid the coronavirus pandemic, while also injecting new life into the apparel industry, which is suffering due to the pandemic,” said Ameri Vintage CEO Naoko Kuroishi. “Although existing virtual humans can only be seen on Instagram and other social networking services, I hope that Adera becomes recognised as a virtual human that people can meet and talk with if they come to our shop. I also hope that there will be fans of Adera in the future, allowing us to bring in new clientele that had been previously uninterested in Ameri.”

Adera can chat with people, whether they are asking trivial questions related to their interests or seeking specialist advice based on fashion knowledge. Adera can handle everything related to frequently asked questions and product introductions. In addition, it should become possible to increase the customer experience in the medium term as a result of the AI gathering information about the user’s body and recommending items that are flattering from a statistical perspective, along with styling that suits each individual.

One AI allows precise service to be offered to customers in the fields of cosmetics and fashion through the platform learning about formal customer service methods and acquiring knowledge about products, while also staying socially distant and reducing the emotional stress associated with face-to-face interactions. Also, in the medical field, simple online counselling diagnoses by a virtual human could overcome emotional barriers about topics that are difficult to discuss.

Adera stands for A = AI, D = DX, E = Experience, R = Rad (slang term for something wonderful) and A = Acceleration.