Target plans to roll out a generative artificial intelligence (genAI) tool to shop assistants at all its nearly 2000 US stores by August.

The tool, called Store Companion, is a genAI-powered chatbot designed by Target that can answer on-the-job process questions, coach new employees, support store operations management and more.

Store Companion’s goal is to make employees’ jobs easier and allow them to work more quickly and efficiently, offering faster service and deeper customer engagement to improve the shopping experience. The initiative is part of Target’s broader approach to using genAI across its business to empower its employees, enhance the shopper experience and support the company’s long-term growth.

“We know technology will continue to play an outsized role in the future of retail for our team members, our guests and our business,” said Brett Craig, executive vice president at Target. “With that in mind, we’re continually experimenting with new tools to make it even easier for our team to do their jobs and to bring more of what guests love about shopping at Target to life. 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.”

The Store Companion chatbot will be available as an app on employees’ handheld devices, providing immediate answers to questions about processes and procedures. For example, they can input prompts like “How do I sign a guest up for a Target Circle Card?” and “How do I restart the cash register in the event of a power outage?” and receive instructions and resources in seconds. The tool also serves as a store process expert and coach, helping new and seasonal employees learn on the job.

“GenAI is 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, 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.”

To develop this resource, Target’s in-house technology team used real frequently asked questions and process documents from its stores across the USA. The team worked quickly, taking the project from its initial testing phase to planned rollout in six months. Target is piloting the tool at about 400 stores, using feedback to improve the experience ahead of the chainwide rollout.

Early feedback from the pilot indicates that Store Companion is positively impacting daily work.

“We’re hearing great feedback from our team about the new app,” said Jake Seaquist, store director at one of the pilot stores 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.”

Since the pilot began, experienced employees have been sharing their expertise and adding materials to help shape the tool.

Store Companion is the latest example of how Target is accelerating its use of genAI to create more personalised and intuitive experiences for employees and consumers. In addition to Store Companion, the retailer plans to roll out another internal genAI tool in the coming months, starting with its headquarters staff. This has the potential to transform day-to-day tasks and help employees be more efficient and spend time doing the most meaningful work.

Target also is using genAI to elevate its digital experience for consumers, including genAI-powered product pages and search capabilities that curate the most relevant results and make it even easier for consumers to find everything they need when shopping on Target.com.

Target says it will continue testing dozens of additional genAI applications throughout 2024 and beyond.

Minneapolis-based Target serves shoppers at nearly 2000 stores. Since 1946, Target has given 5% of its profit to communities, which today equals millions of dollars a week.