Target has announced plans to roll out a new generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tool to team members at all of its nearly 2,000 stores by August, becoming the first major retailer to share that it is bringing this technology to its store team members across the United States.
The tool, called Store Companion, is a GenAI-powered chatbot designed by Target that can answer on-the-job process questions, coach new team members, support store operations management and more.
According to a news release, Store Companion’s goal is to make the teams’ jobs easier and allow them to work more quickly and efficiently, offering faster service and deeper guest engagement to make the shopping experience even better. The initiative is 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.
“We know technology will continue to play an outsized role in the future of retail — for our team members, our guests and our business. 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,” said Brett Craig, executive vice president and chief information officer, Target. “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.”
How the Store Companion tool works
The Store Companion chatbot will reportedly be available as an app on store team members’ specially equipped handheld devices, providing immediate answers to their questions about processes and procedures. For example, team members 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 team members learn on the job.
“Generative AI 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, executive vice president and chief stores officer, 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.”
Target’s in-house technology team said they used real frequently asked questions and process documents from its store teams across the U.S. The team worked quickly, taking the project from its initial testing phase to planned rollout in just six months. Target is currently piloting the tool at about 400 stores, using the teams’ feedback to improve the experience ahead of the chainwide rollout.
According to the release, early feedback from pilot teams indicates that Store Companion is positively impacting Target employees’ 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, Minn. “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.”
Source: Target Corporation
