Ask 3M is 3M's new AI-powered digital assistant that gives industrial customers self-service access to technical expertise and product information using natural language questions instead of specific technical terminology, with current focus on industrial adhesives and tapes and future expansion to collision repair and other industries.
- Launch Date: Ask 3M was announced by 3M on August 6, providing AI-powered technical support for industrial customers
- Key Features: Customers can ask questions in natural language, receive clearer technical information, find relevant products faster, and download technical materials directly within conversations
- Current Scope: Ask 3M supports 3M Industrial Adhesives and Tapes for the manufacturing industry, with collision repair industry training underway
- Benefits: Accelerates discovery, improves navigation, reduces complexity, supports better decisions, and creates consistent experiences across digital touchpoints
- Future Expansion: Upcoming versions will encompass wider technical information ranges and include clarifying questions to guide customer searches
On August 6, 3M announced Ask 3M, its new AI-powered digital assistant that gives industrial customers direct, self-service access to 3M technical expertise.
Customers can ask questions using natural language instead of specific terminology, making it easier to access expert-level information. Ask 3M can help accelerate discovery, improve navigation, reduce complexity, support better decisions and create a more consistent experience.
According to the news release, Ask 3M supports the following:
- Customers can begin with an application need or technical question, not just a product name.
- Users can more quickly find relevant 3M product information, resources, or support paths.
- Technical information can be presented in a clearer, more digestible way.
- Customers can better understand potential options and download technical materials directly within the conversation.
- AI-powered technical support can provide more standardized, accessible information across digital touchpoints.
Ask 3M provides technical information on 3M Industrial Adhesives and Tapes and is designed for the manufacturing industry. Currently, a collision repair working group is training Ask 3M for use in the collision repair industry in collaboration with 3M’s application engineering group to identify user tips and tricks in accordance with OEM procedures. Collision repair updates will be made to the same interface, and future versions of Ask 3M will encompass a wider range of technical information and may help customers in their search by prompting them to answer clarifying questions.
While Ask 3M is not yet available for the collision repair industry, Collision Repair tested Ask 3M by creating a hypothetical collision repair technician looking for the best product recommendations. The key requirements, summary for evaluation and manufacturing industry product recommendations were available to download as a PDF and included document references. Related variants of the suggested products were also shown. Screenshots from the Ask 3M chat and portions of the PDF are below:
