Albertsons has launched its AI shopping assistant, designed to execute complex tasks such as providing “fridge cleaner” recipes that use what’s already in a customer’s refrigerator and pantry. The assistant is available on the supermarket retailer’s banner websites, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons and Jewel-Osco.
Albertsons has built on its recently introduced Ask AI tool, which uses the Google Cloud Conversational Commerce solution, in creating the new AI assistant. Albertsons plans to expand the new offering to its banners’ mobile apps in early 2026, adding mobile-friendly functionality such as in-store aisle location to find a specific product, budget optimization and voice integration.
“Our goal at Albertsons Companies is to make our customers’ lives easier, and by implementing AI-powered features across the customer journey from discovery to purchase, we are delivering an experience that’s faster, easier and more enjoyable,” said Jill Pavolovich, SVP, Digital Customer Experience for Albertsons in a statement.
The AI assistant can complete shopping tasks that include:
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- Meal planning, generating a practical weekly meal plan and shopping list with de-duplicated ingredients added to the shopper’s cart;
- Shop lists, which allow shoppers to type or upload a grocery list image and have the assistant find personalized products for every item on the list;
- Shop recipes, allowing shoppers to import an online recipe or image and add its ingredients to the cart; and
- Event planning, with shoppers either choosing a theme or letting the assistant use the next upcoming holiday to provide curated product ideas with offers.
“With the Albertsons AI shopping assistant, we can understand our customers’ needs on a deeper level, allowing us to serve them in the best way possible,” said Pavlovich. “Our current meal-planning capabilities are exceptional, and now, through dynamic two-way conversations with our shoppers, they can give us further context — such as the customer is cooking a meal for six people but wants leftovers, and one person is a vegetarian. We can provide tailored recommendations in the moment with all these considerations and enhance future interactions with personalized product and recipe recommendations featuring our latest deals and coupons.”
This has been the year of AI assistants in retail. In June Walmart introduced Sparky, an AI-powered assistant capable of synthesizing reviews and offering mobile app users occasion-based recommendations. Target followed suit in November with the debut of the Gift Finder on its mobile app, providing tailored recommendations based on information about the recipient that the shopper inputs into the app as well as list-to-cart scanning for handwritten lists.
Nor are AI apps only for big-box retailers: Guitar Center launched its AI-powered shopping assistant, Rig Advisor, in July.
