Unleashing AI innovation: ArcTouch teams shine in Vercel hackathon

At ArcTouch, experimenting with new technology is in our DNA. We have a long history of hosting and competing in hackathons, dating back to the early days of ArcTouch. We’ve found that hackathons are one of the best ways to truly understand the kinds of experiences that new technologies can unlock. As ArcTouch CEO and cofounder Eric N. Shapiro says, a hackathon “is a chance to explore the future of what you can do.”

Recently, we formed three teams to participate in the Gen CX hackathon co-hosted by WPP & Vercel. This event challenged customer experience, technology, and design teams to create functional e-commerce applications in under 3 weeks using Vercel’s innovative v0 generative coding tool, their AI SDK, and other MACH technologies. We're incredibly proud to share that, out of 22 participating groups from WPP, two ArcTouch teams earned awards for their groundbreaking work. Vercel’s products made it easy to go from concept to prototype at lightning speed, allowing our teams to focus on innovation, user experience, and business impact. We believe AI tools like Vercel’s will transform how we use AI to build next-gen digital products for our clients.

Here's a closer look at the projects our teams created:

Trendy K: AI & Business Value Execution award-winner 🏆

Challenge: Online shopping has revolutionized how we access products, but it often fails to deliver a truly engaging and personalized experience. While e-commerce and social media have made it easier to find products, consumers are often overwhelmed by the sheer volume of choices. This leads to decision fatigue, where shoppers struggle to determine the best product for their specific needs and preferences. They lack the guidance and personal connection that a trusted friend or stylist might provide, making the online shopping experience feel impersonal and, at times, frustrating. Finding the right product can feel like an overwhelming task, diminishing the joy of discovery and purchase.

Solution: The Trendy K team created a conversational shopping platform inspired by the fashion brand SKIMS. Trendy K transforms the shopping experience by allowing users to engage through natural, audio-based conversations with AI-powered versions of popular influencers. 

By talking to your favorite influencers through a natural voice experience, the platform replicates the experience of getting advice from a trusted friend or influencer. The main features include: 

• Conversational shopping: Chat with an AI version of your favorite influencer for real-time outfit recommendations, styling tips, and advice.

• Voice-activated navigation: Shop hands-free using voice commands to browse, add items, and manage your cart.

• Multilingual support: Enjoy a seamless shopping experience in your preferred language.

Technology: The team leveraged Vercel’s v0 AI tool for rapid prototyping, Contentful headless CMS for managing product data, and OpenAI’s Realtime API with WebRTC for natural, real-time audio calls. ArcTouch software engineer Andre Vargas highlighted the efficiency gains, noting, "By leveraging AI tools, we were able to generate product data and images efficiently while also using AI-driven design tools directly in Figma to accelerate UI development."

Try Trendy K here.

Perfect Days: Technical Execution award-winner 🏆

Challenge: Planning your next vacation with family, friends, or a loved one? The struggle is real. One person craves adventure, while another desperately needs relaxation. Somehow, you're stuck trying to make everyone happy while juggling countless browser tabs, conflicting opinions, and an endless stream of "What about this?" messages. On top of that, you still need to research locations, meticulously plan the daily itinerary, find a good hotel in a convenient location, make countless reservations, and buy tickets for various attractions. 

All of these tasks can feel incredibly overwhelming and tedious, sucking the joy out of the vacation before it even begins. The sheer amount of information available online can leave you feeling lost and unsure where to even start.

Solution: The Perfect Days team developed a vacation planner that turns group trip planning chaos into harmony. This collaborative tool allows travelers to create a visual mood board together. Each person can input images, videos, blog posts, songs, playlists — basically anything you want to curate the ideal vibe of your trip. After everyone adds their input, the AI does the heavy lifting of building a complete day-by-day itinerary that keeps everyone smiling — even considering preferences for transportation (e.g. walking, subway, or Uber).

Technology: The team used Vercel v0 to streamline UI building, Sanity.io CMS for content management, OpenAI API for trip planning, and Google Search API for destination details. According to ArcTouch software engineer Igor Matos, Vercel v0 generated quality components. “It generated good quality code and worked as expected, responsively — and we didn't have any redundant code."

Try Perfect Days here. 

Perfect Escape Plan

Challenge: If you’ve never tasted the freedom of the open road, it can be difficult to envision yourself embracing the RV lifestyle — especially for the luxury experience offered by the new electric RV from Lightship. A website often falls short of capturing the unique thrill and sense of freedom associated with RV travel. Before committing to such a luxury purchase, potential buyers need help "seeing themselves" living this lifestyle. The challenge lies in creating a compelling and personalized experience to create a sense of wanderlust that helps people envision themselves exploring destinations tailored to their interests.

Solution: The Perfect Escape Plan team leveraged Vercel's v0 and Dall-E to generate a personalized and interactive preview of the RV trip experience. Travelers choose their desired road trip route, and the application dynamically creates a visual album with AI-generated images of scenic locations, complete with evocative captions. It delivers a seamless user experience designed to inspire potential buyers and encourage purchase.

Technology: The team found Vercel’s v0 particularly helpful for fast prototyping — especially the image-to-code feature — translating designs into actual components. ArcTouch technical lead Leonardo Ochoa shared, "We just took a screenshot from the Figma — and then we asked, ‘Could you create this website?’ And it worked. It was amazing."

AI unlock new kinds of digital experiences for your company 

ArcTouch has been creating lovable apps and websites for companies of all sizes for over 15 years. Contact us to learn how AI-powered tools like Vercel can transform the way to build digital products better and faster.