The mirror and the counter

Ateliq runs the same stylist on every screen in a store. Each screen opens in one of three layouts, set when the screen is installed.

Shoppers need no app and no sign-in. Their phone can join a visit through a QR code (see The shopper's phone).

A visit, start to finish

1. Attract. While nobody is using it, the screen plays a silent loop of up to 12 slides: the campaign banner, this week's trends, design concepts, featured pieces and other pieces. Each slide shows for 8 seconds (15 seconds when the screen is set to reduce motion). The loop never speaks, listens or opens the camera.
2. Start. A tap starts a visit. A start screen asks for camera consent and says plainly that the stylist is an AI and that staff are available. Nothing opens the camera until the shopper taps Start. A shopper who would rather not use the camera can choose Use our model instead.
3. Choose who it's for. Women, men or kids. The shopper's tap decides; the stylist never overrides a choice made on screen. In the kids section, photos, the style scan, the size sheet and designs are switched off.
4. Browse, try on and ask. See Try-on and The stylist.
5. Take it away. The look goes to the shopper's phone, and a hand-off lets them hold it, pay by link, finish online or pay at the counter. See Hand-off.
6. End. The visit ends when the shopper ends it, or after two minutes with nobody at the screen. Ateliq then forgets the visit.

Talking and tapping

• Voice. The first tap on the microphone turns on hands-free listening. The stylist answers out loud in a natural voice, with US and Indian English voices.
• Language. Spoken commands are in English. The stylist writes back in the language the shopper uses.
• Spoken commands. Every button has a spoken command (for example, asking to try a piece on or take it off). A matched command acts on the screen straight away and is not sent to the stylist.
• A touch path for everything. Every action the stylist can take has a button, and reply chips offer short answers to tap.
• Captions. Every spoken line is captioned, on by default: two lines of up to 42 characters, paced at about 165 words a minute.
• Presenter. On the mirror, the stylist can appear as a live, speaking presenter in the look and voice you choose, or as a quiet animated mark. The presenter only speaks the stylist's replies.
• Prices out loud. Prices are spoken as words in the store's currency.

Calling a stylist

Call a stylist sends the look on screen to your floor team. In the store view, the associate who goes taps On it, and Ateliq records who went and how long the shopper waited. A note the shopper types stays private: it is never sent to head office.

If the store's connection drops, the button becomes Ask a member of staff nearby. See Offline behaviour.

Accessibility

• Every mirror control sits between 381 and 1,219 mm (15 and 48 inches) from the floor.
• Touch targets are at least 48 px, text is at least 16 px, and text contrast is at least 4.5:1. If a brand's accent colour fails contrast, the screen falls back to a colour that passes.
• A visible focus ring marks the active control.
• Alternatives are always offered: try pieces on a model photo instead of the camera, use the phone instead of the screen, or ask staff.
• Known limits, stated on the screen: voice needs a tap to start and needs the connection, and the counter's height is fixed.
• The accessibility statement and the privacy notice are shown on the screen and are also open web pages on the kiosk.