Charlie Cole is the President of XGEN AI, a composable AI platform for eCommerce. As a seasoned eCommerce executive, he has over two decades of experience leading digital transformations for global brands. Before XGEN AI, Charlie served as the CEO at Tribute Technology and FTD and held leadership positions at Samsonite and TUMI, where he drove significant digital growth.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [1:02] Charlie Cole’s career trajectory from digital marketing to becoming President of XGEN AI
• [8:07] The rapid evolution of marketing — from Yahoo Mail ads to TikTok 
• [11:40] Charlie talks about XGEN AI’s platform for eCommerce search
• [19:57] How generative AI overcomes traditional search limitations
• [25:22] The potential for a conversational, AI-powered shopping assistant
• [29:59] Charlie shares his favorite moments from the Shoptalk convention
• [33:01] How to make the most out of Shoptalk and other industry events

In this episode…

Online commerce search has long frustrated both brands and consumers. Whether it's typing in a detailed query and getting zero results or sifting through hundreds of irrelevant products, traditional search engines can’t keep up with consumers’ evolving shopping habits. As search behavior evolves and expectations rise, how can brands deliver a shopping experience that feels intuitive, personal, and helpful?

According to digital executive and eCommerce operator Charlie Cole, generative AI presents unique opportunities for search personalization. These tools can understand natural language, learn from user behavior, and surface relevant results — even for complex, descriptive queries. Charlie urges companies to invest in technologies that apply AI image recognition, contextual search, and predictive merchandising. By focusing on genuine customer needs and creating frictionless, conversational experiences, brands can drive loyalty and revenue.

In the latest episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant speaks with Charlie Cole, the President of XGEN AI, about revolutionizing eCommerce search with generative AI. Charlie discusses the future of search marketing, how to capitalize on industry events like Shoptalk, and how XGEN AI’s platform powers innovative search solutions.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Aaron Conant on LinkedIn   
• BWG Connect  
• Charlie Cole on LinkedIn 
• XGEN AI 
• Shoptalk

Quotable Moments:

• “I really want to create a business where the only reason I joined is because I know the tech kicks ass.”
• “Generative AI can actually fulfill the promise of improving your customer experience on a one-to-one basis.”
• “No one just wants jeans… we've all been extensively trained to use these site searches.”
• “I want XGEN to be the best applier of generative AI to the eCommerce front end.”
• “We've been talking to websites like we've been talking to six-year-olds for about 20 years.”

Action Steps:

1. Invest in AI-powered search and recommendation tools: Upgrading your eCommerce stack with generative AI can drastically improve the customer experience and conversion rates. Traditional search engines miss nuanced queries, while AI tools understand intent and deliver relevant results.
2. Encourage natural, descriptive customer search behavior: Prompting users to search the way they speak unlocks deeper buying intent and higher engagement. Generative AI thrives on longer, more specific queries that signal stronger purchase readiness.
3. Evaluate tech through an operator’s lens: Choose software that solves real-world problems you’ve experienced as a user or operator. This practical approach ensures your investment delivers measurable outcomes instead of empty promises.
4. Use data to guide predictive merchandising: Combine customer history with contextual and image-based AI to surface fresh, relevant products. This expands cart size and deepens brand relationships without relying solely on past behavior.
5. Stay open to emerging vendors and tech solutions: Exploring new tools, even from lesser-known companies, helps you stay ahead of innovation curves. Many transformative technologies begin at the edges of industry events and grow through early adoption.

About BWG Connect...

BWG Connect provides executive strategy and networking sessions that help brands from any industry with their overall business planning and execution. We network and knowledge share together to better understand and adapt to the newest trends, strategies, and pain points shaping growth in the digital space. BWG Connect, in conjunction with BWG Strategy, has built an exclusive network of 125,000+ senior professionals and hosts over 2,000 virtual and in-person networking events on an annual basis.

In addition, we have had 1x1 conversations with over 5,000 brands and have a real-time pulse on what digital strategies are successful and why. This in-depth knowledge allows our team to operate on the cutting-edge and provide our clients with best-in-class guidance on how to win in the digital world. We have provided free consultations and strategy sessions for companies of all sizes, from start-ups to Fortune-100, to enable growth, resolve issues and make curated service provider introductions that can impact your digital footprint.

We have held to the philosophy of providing high-level insights and actionable knowledge with no sales pitches in order to provide to our network the ability to listen, learn and act to improve themselves as well as their organizations. Our ultimate goal is to be the resource out there to help digital executives find the research they need to excel in the modern marketplace.

If you are interested in getting involved with any of our current or past events, you can find them here. If you are looking for help & would like to set up some time to chat with our team, you can schedule a time or reach out directly to Aaron@bwgconnect.com or Tiffany@bwgconnect.com.