Empathy Platform

Empathy Platform is an AI-powered commerce search and discovery engine for retailers. It combines keyword and semantic search to interpret shopper intent and help reduce searches returning no or few results. AI-assisted features include Related Prompts, AI Related Tags, AI Next Queries, and AI Carousels for query guidance and zero-result recovery. Merchandising tools offer no-code controls for product ranking and results-grid presentation, plus analytics and search relevance metrics. Catalog tools include synonym suggestions, automated attributes, horizontal indexing, and catalog customizations. Retailers can choose Empathy-hosted SaaS or Self-managed Components; self-managed deployments support GCP, AWS, and Azure. Listed integrations include Adobe Commerce, VTEX, and custom or other commerce platforms. Empathy says AI-assisted search runs on private, self-hosted infrastructure and shopper, catalog, and query data does not leave that environment or train external AI systems. The maker states that both service models are billed per query rather than per API call, and pricing is available on request.

Empathy Platform combines search, discovery, merchandising, and catalog capabilities with hosted and self-managed options. Retailers should factor in its per-query billing model when assessing fit.

Empathy Platform suits retailers seeking search, product discovery, and merchandising controls, with either hosted SaaS or self-managed deployment. Self-managed components are aimed at large enterprises seeking more control and customization.

Empathy Platform is an AI-powered commerce search and discovery engine for retailers that need search, merchandising, catalog management, and shopper guidance in one system. It suits medium to large stores, especially those with demanding infrastructure or customization requirements. Its strongest case is breadth and deployment choice; buyers must weigh that against query-based billing and the lack of image and voice search.

Overview

Empathy combines keyword and semantic search to interpret shopper intent, aiming to reduce low-result and zero-result searches. It extends beyond a search box with discovery prompts, merchandising controls, analytics, and catalog operations, so retailers can manage relevance and presentation in the same platform.

Customers can choose an Empathy-hosted SaaS deployment or Self-managed Components on their own infrastructure. Self-managed deployments support GCP, AWS, and Azure and offer large enterprises more control and customization, but they also make the customer responsible for more of the infrastructure lifecycle. Empathy says its engineering teams help self-managed customers with integration, infrastructure, disaster recovery, and updates.

Key features

Search and discovery

Keyword and semantic search provide a useful combination for queries that do not use exact product terminology. Related Prompts, AI Related Tags, AI Next Queries, and AI Carousels guide shoppers toward better queries and provide recovery routes when an initial search produces nothing. This is particularly relevant to retailers with broad catalogs or frequent zero-result pages.

Empathy does not support image or voice search. Retailers planning visual or spoken search journeys should therefore look elsewhere or treat Empathy as only part of a wider search stack.

Merchandising and catalog control

No-code controls let teams adjust product ranking and the presentation of results grids without building each change into application code. Search relevance metrics, zero-result reporting, search conversion tracking, and result-click analytics give merchandising teams ways to connect changes with shopper behavior.

Catalog tools include synonym suggestions, automated attributes, horizontal indexing, and catalog customizations. Those capabilities address terminology and data-quality problems before they undermine retrieval. Adobe Commerce and VTEX are listed integrations, alongside custom or other commerce platforms; the VTEX connection includes a feed connector and storefront Pixel app.

Privacy and implementation

Empathy says AI-assisted search runs on private, self-hosted infrastructure, with shopper, catalog, and query data kept within that environment rather than used to train external AI systems. Its Tagging microservices use aggregate shopping patterns and do not store user IDs, location, images, voice, or device and browser information. The company states that it complies with GDPR and CCPA.

The implementation is API-first, with an open-source Vue.js frontend option for the web and native iOS and Android apps. That approach fits retailers building custom storefronts, while the platform also exposes an API for broader integration.

Pricing

Empathy uses custom pricing and bills both service models per query rather than per API call. That distinction matters for high-volume retailers: request architecture alone does not determine the bill, and projected shopper-query volume should be part of the commercial evaluation.

SaaS

The SaaS plan includes core search and discovery in an Empathy-hosted, multi-tenant cloud. It is aimed at medium to large stores that want the platform without operating its infrastructure. Pricing is on request, so buyers should obtain a volume estimate before comparing it with request-priced alternatives.

Self-managed Components (SmC)

SmC is a basic flexible package billed per query, not per API call. Customers deploy it on their own infrastructure or select hosting options described by Empathy. It is the better fit for large enterprises that need control and customization, but that flexibility comes with operational ownership and the associated integration and resilience work.

Platforms

Empathy supports Android, iOS, web, API, and self-hosted deployments. The combination covers native apps, browser storefronts, and custom commerce systems rather than locking a retailer to one presentation layer.

Who it's for

Empathy is a strong match for medium and large retailers that need search relevance, discovery guidance, merchandising, and catalog tooling together, particularly those with significant zero-result problems or strict data-privacy requirements. SaaS suits teams that want a hosted service; SmC suits enterprises prepared to run or tightly control the deployment.

It is less suitable for a small store seeking a transparent, low-cost entry plan, or for a retailer whose roadmap depends on image or voice search. Per-query billing also deserves careful modeling before committing at scale.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Broad commerce-search scope: Search, AI discovery, merchandising, analytics, and catalog controls are covered in one platform.
• Flexible deployment: Hosted SaaS and self-managed options support different control and infrastructure requirements.
• Useful measurement: Zero-result reports, conversion tracking, click analytics, and relevance metrics connect search work to outcomes.
• Privacy positioning: Private AI infrastructure and stated GDPR and CCPA compliance address sensitive retail data concerns.

Cons

• Per-query billing: Costs are tied to queries rather than API calls, making high-volume forecasting essential.
• No image or voice search: Visual and spoken discovery use cases are outside the platform.
• Custom pricing: Buyers cannot assess a standard price from the published plans.
• Self-managed overhead: SmC offers control but requires customers to take on deployment and infrastructure responsibilities.

Alternatives

Search Analytics Software is a useful category starting point for comparing search-focused tools. Choose Algolia instead if a freemium entry plan and published usage limits matter: its free tier includes 10,000 search requests per month, 50,000 records, 5,000 recommendation requests, and 5,000 crawls, while Grow is listed at $0.50 a month.

Prefixbox Search Analytics is the alternative for retailers wanting a free analytics tier designed for more than 150,000 searches per month and over 100 search metrics. Constructor is another paid, enterprise-oriented option with custom pricing and a demo-led buying process.

Unbxd is a paid alternative for retailers evaluating another commerce-search platform. Bloomreach Content is a paid option that also supports self-hosted deployment. Nosto suits buyers seeking modular selection, with a base platform fee and a fixed fee tied to store volume, plus a chosen support and scalability level.

Bloomreach Discovery is another paid search and discovery option. Searchanise is the practical choice for smaller catalogs needing a free tier: its free plan supports up to 25 products, while Basic is $19 a month for up to 1,5k products.

Verdict

Choose Empathy Platform when a medium or large retailer wants one system for intent-aware search, AI-guided discovery, merchandising, catalog quality, analytics, and flexible hosted or self-managed deployment. Look elsewhere if predictable low-volume pricing, a free starting tier, or image and voice search is more important than that breadth and control.