Target making change at 2,000 stores as new AI is rolled out – and retailer insists it’ll improve shopping experience
TARGET is launching new AI-powered technology at nearly all of its 2,000 locations in the US that officials say will improve the shopping experience.
The retailer is the latest to place generative artificial intelligence tools in the hands of workers, announcing a chatbot called Store Companion on Thursday.
The chatbot will appear as an app on a worker's handheld device and provide information on tasks such as rebooting a cash register or enrolling a shopper in Target's loyalty program.
"Generative AI is a game-changing technology and Store Companion will make daily tasks easier and enable our team to respond to guests' requests with confidence and efficiency," said Mark Schindele, executive vice president, and chief stores officer in a press release.
"The tool frees up time and attention for our team to serve guests with care and to create a shopping destination that invites discovery, ease, and moments of everyday joy."
The new tech will be tested in 400 stores with plans to make the app available to most workers in nearly all locations by August.
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Early feedback has proven to be positive so far.
"We're hearing great feedback from our team about the new app," said Jake Seaquist, a store director at one of the pilot locations in Champlin, Minnesota.
"Streamlining day-to-day tasks goes a long way with our team members and adds up to more time spent with guests and a better guest experience across the store."
Employees have been sharing their inside knowledge and adding materials to help shape the tool.
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Target said in December it was using AI to help shoppers personalize both online and in-store trips.
Shoppers have turned toward online shopping due to the convenience, which is why many retailers have personalized the experience with predictive technology.
Brett Craig, Target’s chief information officer eased fears of the new tools possibly being used to replace workers.
"I believe the relationship between people and technology is so very important," he told The Seattle Times.
"We’re here to make sure that they get the right tools to do their work."
Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy have all recently launched similar tools to help employees or shoppers.
Last year, Walmart began using generative AT to enhance customer search and give employees real-time information to help them answer questions.
CEO Doug McMillon said the company had seen good results just a month after the tool was launched.
What is a retail chatbot?
Retailers are turning to artificial intelligence to personalize and improve the shopping experience.
Retail chatbots are automated virtual customer assistants that can drive sales and help shoppers by answering questions and providing suggestions.
Chatbots are used with generative AI and typically have natural language processing capabilities so they can respond to human speech.
Using AI a chatbot can learn over time, meaning the more interactions it has, the better it will become.
Chatbots are great for:
- Increasing personalization
- Reducing costs and improving return on investments
- Improving customer service
They can also be used to extend customer support hours, track orders, collect feedback, and find brick-and-mortar locations for shoppers.
Source: Freshworks
Best Buy partnered with Google Cloud and Accenture to use AI to give shoppers a more personalized experience.
"We’re excited to bring these gen AI capabilities to life for our customers and employees by leveraging Google Cloud’s AI platform, Vertex AI, and Gemini models," Best Buy said in a statement.
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"The future of retail is constantly evolving, and we’re committed to remaining at the forefront to serve our customers in ways no one else can."
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Target for comment.
