Vacuum Cleaners

Best Vacuums

Shark AI Self-Empty XL RV2502AE

Lots of robot vacuums work fine in any home, and the Shark AI RV2502, equipped with two side brushes, is one more option in a crowded field. The Shark AI’s best feature is its clever navigation—plotting a quick, orderly path through your home, and learning the layout while it works, so you can tell it when and where to clean, using its app. The Shark’s bagless auto-emptying dock is also genuinely useful. But those features are now a given in bots that cost more than $350, and despite the “AI” in the product name, this Shark doesn’t have the kind of advanced obstacle avoidance as robots, like the Roomba j7 or the Roborock MaxV series—in other words, it won’t steer around dog poop.

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CR Expert Take

How did it perform in our owner surveys and expert lab testing?

Overall Score

The Overall Score for this model incorporates our expert lab test results, as well as ratings for that brand’s reliability and owner satisfaction from our annual product owner survey of members.

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Current Range of Tested Robotic Vacuums

What goes into the Overall Score?

OWNER SURVEYS

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Carpet

/ 5

Bare floors

/ 5

Navigation

/ 5

Pet hair

/ 5

Edges

/ 5

Ease of use

/ 5

Noise

/ 5

Data privacy

/ 5

Data security

/ 5

Color

/ 5

Detailed Test Results

This bot from Shark aced navigating and cleaning our bare floors with its grid pattern. The suction doesn't seem strong as it struggled to pick up embedded fine particles in CR test carpets and the side brushes scattered debris. The vac avoided getting caught on the tassels of our rug and it maneuvered over power cords and .75 inch thresholds without much trouble. Its slim design allowed it to pass under our furniture and it navigated over the dark carpet in the lab. The bristle/rubber combo brush roll wasn't as easy to clean wrapped with human hair as it was with pet hair. Shark touts LIDAR AI navigation to help it navigate around rooms. We set a small water bottle on the floor to see if it would avoid it and it pushed the bottle off the mark, not detecting it in its path. Another stand-out feature on this vacuuming system, is the self-empty dirt disposal bin: once the robot is docked, a vacuum in the docking station automatically sucks the contents from the robot's bin into the base. The product claims to have self cleaning bin capacity for 60 days but the results will vary based on floor surfaces and debris. The upside of this system is that it is bagless, unlike competitor's models, so you don't need to purchase bags. But the downside is that emptying the bin could trigger allergies. Features: Recharge & Resume, Eco, Normal, Max and UltraClean modes. Charge indicator lights on robot. LIDAR navigation. Self-empty bagless base. App: The Shark Clean app version 2.2.25 (1376) also allows you to schedule cleaning times as well as operate the bot remotely. Cleaning reports and home mapping are available via the app. You can select room, zone and spot cleaning in the app. Alexa compatible. Includes: Self cleaning base, 1 brush cleaning tool, 2 extra paper filters, 1 year warranty.

About

The Shark AI Self-Empty XL RV2502AE is part of the Vacuum Cleaners test program at Consumer Reports. In our lab tests, Robotic Vacuums models like the AI Self-Empty XL RV2502AE are rated on multiple criteria, such as those listed below.

Carpet: Shows how much surface litter (cereal, rice, and peas) and embedded dust the vacuum picked up from a medium-pile carpet.

Bare floors: Indicates the vacuum's ability to remove surface debris from a bare laminate floor.

Navigation: A composite score that includes combined coverage over multiple runs, clearance under furniture and obstacle and entrapment avoidance.

Brand Reliability & Satisfaction

#? in Reliability of all Robotic Vacuum Brands

Did the brand perform consistently well over time?

PREDICTED RELIABILITY SCORE

/ 100

Predicted brand reliability is based on estimated problem rates for newly-purchased robotic vacuums by the end of the fourth year of ownership, adjusting for extended warranty/service contract status, product usage, and the presence of pet hair in the home. Ranked #? of 11

Would our members recommend this brand?

OWNER SATISFACTION SCORE

/ 100

Brand owner satisfaction is based on the proportion of members who are extremely likely to recommend their robotic vacuum to their friends and family. Ranked #? of 11

Source: Consumer Reports' 2023, 2024, and 2025 Winter Surveys

Features & Specs

Specs

Clearance (in.)

4.1

Time to Clean Room (min.)

Pattern

Grid

WiFi/Cellular connectivity

Yes

Run time (min.)

Remote control

Connections

Navigation POC

Carpet POC

Ease of use POC

Bare floors POC

Noise POC

Price & Shop

Shark AI Self-Empty XL RV2502AE

CR Expert Take

Overall Score

What goes into the Overall Score?

Detailed Test Results

About

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