Target has revealed plans to roll out its new generative AI (GenAI) solution to “hundreds of thousands” of team members.
The Store Companion is a GenAI-powered chatbot designed to support Target’s staff by answering on-the-job queries, coaching new recruits, and supporting store operations management.
With the tool slated to be available to staff in all of Target’s nearly 2000 stores by August, the company has claimed that the release will make it the “first major retailer” in the US to equip its team members with a GenAI chatbot.
By boosting efficiency and enabling deeper guest engagement, Target believes that the Store Companion will help make the teams' jobs easier while also enhancing the overall customer experience.
In discussing the news, Brett Craig – EVP and Chief Information Officer at Target –expressed his excitement and enthusiasm about the potential of GenAI and its impact on the future of Target:
"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.
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.
So, let’s take a closer look at some of the features of this “transformative” solution.
Target’s Store Companion
Despite sounding more akin to a personal assistant that might follow you around the store making recommendations and helping to carry your groceries, the Store Companion is an app-based solution that will offer store team members instant answers about processes and procedures.
The tool will also act as a process expert and coach, aiding new and seasonal staff in on-the-job learning.
In order to equip the bot with the capabilities to solve staff queries, Target's in-house tech team utilized real FAQs and process documents from stores nationwide.
The retailer has confirmed that the tool is currently being piloted in approximately 400 stores, with feedback being used to refine it before a chainwide launch.
Jake Seaquist, a Store Director at one of the pilot stores, detailed how the testing process is helping to improve the solution:
We're hearing great feedback from our team about the new app. 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.
While the Store Companion is Target’s major GenAI-powered release, the company revealed that it is also utilizing the tech to “elevate” the digital experience for its customers via the following two enhancements:
Product Display Page Improvements
