Conversational AI for Sustainable Craft Futures: A GPT Tool for Maheshwari Saree Stakeholders

A custom GPT-based conversational tool called Maheshwari Saree – Timeless Elegance was developed. The study explores the potential of AI in real-time design reasoning, stakeholder dialogue simulation and craft-specific pattern interpretation. This tool served as both a research output and an experimental method to examine how AI can be ethically trained to respond to the needs of diverse users in the craft-based fashion ecosystem. The GPT is envisioned as a living framework that is capable of responding to user queries about Maheshwari sarees, proposing AI-generated design directions based on traditional motifs, simulating ethical dilemmas in authorship and enabling accessibility to craft knowledge through natural language. The underlying hypothesis is that AI systems trained using culturally grounded data could serve as collaborative tools rather than disruptive agents in design. This experiment demonstrates the feasibility of using custom-trained conversational AI as both a research tool and a cultural design interface. As AI continues to enter heritage domains, such training methods could become standard in co-design processes, cultural archiving, educational platforms and participatory fashion dialogues.