This US retailer plans to roll out GenAI tool to staff members at 2000 stores

Target Corporation has announced its 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 U.S.

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, says the company statement.

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, adds the statement.

"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," he said.

How the Store Companion tool works

The Store Companion chatbot will 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.

Testing, learning and improving the tool

"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.

To develop this best-in-class resource for its store team members, Target's in-house technology team 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.

"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."

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

The power of AI across Target's business

Store Companion is the latest example of how Target is accelerating its use of GenAI to create even more personalized and intuitive experiences for team members 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 team members. When placed in the hands of Target's most important asset, its team, this technology has the potential to transform day-to-day tasks and empower team members to 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.