Reinventing search and discovery within a digital ecosystem

Twenty years ago, both legacy and digital native brands were focused on showing up on the first page of search engine results and creating a competitive digital front door that could support seamless phygital experiences. Things evolved further with the arrival of the smartphone app, social shopping, and sophisticated data capture that allowed brands to engage customers across multiple platforms and sites. Once on a retailer’s site, a few leading brands would use rules-based decision bots to help customers navigate their product catalogue and filter results, but the primary focus was on connecting digital channels to create a cohesive omnichannel experience. 

Today, brands are grappling with a different customer demand: hyper-personalized journeys that recommend the product the customer wants in the fewest steps possible, thanks to a new generation of AI tools. 

The AI search tools delivered by Big Tech over recent years have forced attention on discoverability, site optimization, generative engine optimization (GEO), and answer engine optimization (AEO). But the smart organizations are looking beyond that: ensuring the experience a customer has once they arrive in a brand’s digital ecosystem, is just as personalized and cutting edge as the experience that brought them there in the first place. 

At All Access: Digital CX 2026, Dianna Lyngholm, director of creative and website at HalloweenCostumes.com – part of umbrella brand, Fun.com – will share how the online retailer modernized its digital search and discovery experience by rethinking how AI-powered recommendations and search work together. 

In this interview with CX Network, Lyngholm shares a preview of her session and the key things practitioners need to know about creating leading digital experiences. 

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Enhancing the on-site search journey 

During All Access: Digital CX 2026, Lyngholm will explain how she led the transformation of the HalloweenCustumes.com web experience using, among other things, vector AI. 

The problem Lynghom and her team set out to solve was simple – and pervasive – current search and recommendation functionalities are often built on fragmented, legacy systems that struggle to keep up with rising expectations. As shoppers become more specific and accustomed to personalized experiences, “no results found” is no longer acceptable.

To transform the experiences it delivers, the company partnered with Malachyte, the first AI platform that adapts in real time to instantly respond to customer behavior.  Lyngholm says it was “the first real unlock for us”. 

“Their tech utilizes vector AI to identify user signals among other things to map the right product at an individual customer level. We test everything, and when I say they came out the winner, it was no comparison,” she explains. 

Sharing her tips for how practitioners can select partners who will help their brands achieve their search and discovery goals, she says: “Test, test, test. It sounds obvious, but make sure you're partnering with someone that wants you to test their product against what you have currently. Pilots are another key thing to look for, anything that helps remove the barrier to entry.” 

She adds: “Do your research before you go into conversations with vendors. It's easy to get lost in new jargon, and understanding what you're looking for and why can help you poke holes into what they are 'selling'.”

Vector AI: The next frontier for ecommerce

Brands may be busy grappling with third party AI search and the resulting changes they need to make to their websites, internal processes, and service propositions, but with Lyngholm’s focus fully on how a journey develops within a brand’s digital ecosystem, the impact of LLMs as a standalone tool is limited. 

The next frontier in journey personalization will not require a customer to endure multiple cold starts, as they currently do with LLMs, but to simply use a website and have their experience orchestrated in real time, without latency. 

“You use agentic AI and 15 questions later, you're finally at what you want. I think the next step is vector AI, which I'm seeing very few people do so far, but it solves the cold start issue,” Lyngholm says. 

“Instead of having to answer a bunch of questions when you're on a website, you just start clicking and searching and, and everything gets personalized on the fly for you, and there's no latency there. I think that's really the way it's going to go,” she adds. But it’s not the only innovation she sees on the horizon. The next step? “Partners that offer a combination of vector and LLM for search...next level,” Lyngholm says. 

How to join All Access: Digital CX 2026

All Access: Digital CX 2026 takes place April 21, 2026, kicking off at 10am ET with Lyngholm’s session. 

She will explain what it takes to implement modern, AI-driven discovery on a highly customized platform. From handling cold-start search and seasonal demand to aligning internal teams, the discussion will take a look at the challenges involved in upgrading search and recommendations systems and reveal how Fun.com approaches them. 

Attendees will also hear how better search and recommendation design can unlock measurable CX and revenue gains while maintaining internal trust and control.

Other speakers joining the event include Eelko Lommers, director, experience design and innovation at zooplus, Luke Forshaw, head of brand and marketing for Back Market UK, and Liliana Caimacan, professor of marketing, innovation, strategy, business transformation, Hult International Business School. 

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