Albertsons will be the first retailer to bring the new Google Cloud Conversational Commerce agent to market via its Ask AI tool, designed to help customers build smarter, faster baskets with simplified product discovery, personalized recommendations and more intuitive shopping experiences. The tool is now accessible via the search bar in all the supermarket’s banner store apps, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme and Tom Thumb.
Built on Vertex AI, the Conversational Commerce agent can detect shopper intents and preferences and engage in real-time back-and-forth conversations with shoppers to surface relevant results and recommendations.
“By collaborating with Google Cloud to bring Conversational Commerce agent to market, we are providing our customers a solution that moves beyond traditional search to help them digitally shop across aisles, plan quick meal ideas, discover new products and even recommend unexpected items that pair well together,” said Jill Pavlovich, SVP, Digital Customer Experience for Albertsons in a statement.
Key features of the solution include:
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- Personalized search and discovery: By conversing with shoppers to understand their preferences and intent – such as “sweet” vs. “salty” when buying snacks, for example – the agent recommends relevant products and encourages customers to explore unexpected items. Early results at Albertsons show that customers using Ask AI often add one or more additional items to their cart.
- Natural conversations: Multi-turn conversations are designed to seamlessly adapt to customer needs, using guided prompts to help customers easily clarify and refine results. Customers feel like they are having a multi-step conversation versus getting canned answers from a chatbot.
- Intelligent answers: Conversational Commerce agent provides real-time answers for complex questions, such as product comparisons, and asks clarifying questions for ambiguous requests to guide shoppers to more precise results.
- Safe, reliable information: Built-in content, guardrails and feedback tools help ensure shoppers receive information they can trust, with the AI models grounded in quality product data and responsible design practices.
- Drives engagement: When Albertsons customers interacted with the Ask AI platform, more than 85% of conversions started with open-ended or exploratory questions – demonstrating the need for personalized guidance.
“The future of retail is personal, predictive and effortless, and AI is the key to unlocking it,” said Paul Tepfenhart, Global Director of Retail at Google Cloud in a statement. “Albertsons has been a phenomenal partner. The grocer is already seeing powerful results with our new Conversational Agents for Commerce tool, and we’re excited to bring this innovation to the rest of the industry.”
Google Cloud already has made strong inroads in retail: In June 2022 H&M began working with Google Cloud, followed in August 2023 by UK retailer John Lewis. In January 2024 Victoria’s Secret kicked off a multi-year partnership with Google Cloud to create more personalized and inclusive shopping experience with the use of AI.
