US retailer Target plans to introduce a GenAI-powered chatbot for team members across its nearly 2,000 stores by August of this year.
The chatbot, titled Store Companion, has been designed by Target to answer on-the-job process questions, coach new team members, and support store operations management, among others.
The retailer hopes to help its team members through this initiative and boost speed and efficiency for a better shopping experience.
It is also part of Target's broader strategic approach to using GenAI across its business to empower its team, enhance the guest experience and support the company's long-term growth, the company added.
Brett Craig, executive vice president and chief information officer of Target, stated, "We know technology will continue to play an outsized role in the future of retail – for our team members, our guests and our business.[...]
"The transformative nature of GenAI is helping us accelerate the rate of innovation across our operations, and we're excited about the role these new tools and applications will play in driving growth."
Store Companion
Store Companion will be available to Target's team members on a special handheld device.
The chatbot answers questions about processes and procedures and also serves as a store process expert and coach, helping new and seasonal team members learn on the job.
The feature was developed by Target's in-house technology team. It used real frequently asked questions and process documents from its store teams across the US to train the chatbot.
From its initial testing phase to the planned rollout, the project was completed in six months.
Currently, the chatbot is being tested at about 400 stores and Target is using the feedback from team members to improve the experience ahead of its rollout across the chain.
"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 at Target.
"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," he added.
