Target Corporation, the leading American retail giant, announced plans to deploy a new generative artificial intelligence tool chainwide by August. This would make Target the first major retailer to introduce this technology to its store teams nationwide in the U.S.
Target's Store Companion Tool
In a press release on Thursday, Target announced the upcoming Store Companion tool, a GenAI-powered chatbot developed by its in-house team to handle on-the-job process inquiries, train new team members, assist in-store operations management, and perform other job functions.
The Store Companion chatbot, accessible through an app installed on store team members' specially equipped handheld devices, will instantly respond to guests' inquiries about processes and procedures. The goal is to provide faster service and deeper engagement with guests, enhancing the overall shopping experience.
Brett Craig, Target's executive vice president and chief information officer, highlighted the critical role of technology in shaping the future of retail for team members, guests, and business operations, emphasizing Target's commitment to ongoing experimentation with new tools aimed at simplifying team members' tasks and enhancing the elements of the shopping experience that guests value the most.
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How Target is Further Testing and Learning The AI Tool
Mark Schindele, Target's executive vice president and chief stores officer, highlighted that the tool will streamline team members' tasks, enabling them to respond to guest requests more confidently and efficiently.
Target is piloting the tool at approximately 400 stores, leveraging feedback from real frequently asked questions, procedural documents, and experienced team members' expertise to refine the tool further before rolling it out across its chain locations.
So far, early feedback from pilot teams suggests that the new app is having a positive effect on their daily operations. The new app simplifies day-to-day tasks and allows team members to allocate more time to serving guests, thereby improving the overall guest experience throughout the store, Jake Seaquist, store director at a pilot location in Champlin, Minnesota, lauded.
Target's Use of GenAI Chainwide
While Store Companion exemplifies Target's commitment to leveraging GenAI to enhance personalized and intuitive experiences for team members and consumers, the company also intends to introduce another GenAI tool internally, initially for its headquarters team members, with broader deployment planned.
Target also leverages GenAI to enhance its digital consumer experience, implementing GenAI-powered product pages and search functionalities.
This year, Target has significantly improved thousands of product display pages on Target.com, aiming to offer guests more relevant and user-friendly experiences. By utilizing GenAI, Target has summarized reviews and refined product descriptions to aid shoppers in making informed purchase decisions. It has also enriched product titles with comprehensive information to help facilitate quicker and more accurate item searches. Target plans to have completed enhancements on over 100,000 pages by the summer's end.
Target has also initiated the rollout of Guided Search on Target.com, enabling guests to search using conversational language, explore a wider assortment through curated and intelligent results, and help shoppers remember commonly overlooked items. This enhanced search capability will progressively expand and be accessible to all consumers later this summer.
The company believes that by equipping its team, which it considers its most valuable asset, this technology will revolutionize daily tasks, empowering team members to work more efficiently and focus on tasks that are most impactful and meaningful.
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