InPost has made a beta version of its AI shopping assistant, called Von Halski, available to all users of the InPost Mobile app. The feature will be rolled out gradually from 16 June and is ultimately set to reach around 17 million users. This is one of the company’s most ambitious steps towards building its own e-commerce ecosystem.
The new tool allows users to search for products using text or voice. Instead of browsing offers across multiple shops, users can describe what they’re looking for, and the system analyses thousands of offers from partners and presents the results in the form of a product carousel. The assistant is also designed to suggest shopping ideas and help users compare available options.
Personalisation is a key element of the solution. InPost states that Von Halski learns users’ preferences, meaning that subsequent recommendations are set to become increasingly accurate. Purchases can be completed without leaving the app, using saved payment methods or the InPost Pay feature. The entire process, from product search to delivery and any returns, takes place within a single platform.
According to the company, over 500,000 people signed up for the beta tests, and tens of thousands actively used the new feature. The feedback gathered was used to refine the solution ahead of wider roll-out.
The launch of Von Halski is part of a wider trend towards the use of generative artificial intelligence in e-commerce. More and more companies are experimenting with shopping assistants designed to shorten the path between product search and transaction completion. In the case of InPost, however, this new feature is part of a broader strategy. The company, previously associated mainly with deliveries and its network of parcel lockers, is attempting to move closer to the start of the purchasing process and take over part of the customer relationship, which until now has primarily belonged to e-commerce platforms and product search engines.
