Instacart Launches AI Solutions Suite for Grocers, Debuts Cart Assistant with Sprouts and Kroger

Instacart rolls out AI tools for grocers, Sprouts will be first to use its Cart Assistant

Instacart on Tuesday launched a suite of artificial intelligence tools for grocers to deliver more personalized shopping experiences and improve retail operations. CEO Chris Rogers told CNBC that the announcement is a major step forward in the company's enterprise strategy, which has grown to power hundreds of digital storefronts. "It's taking everything that we've been building for retailers over the last decade, and it's bringing it into the AI era," Rogers said. "It's really about putting enterprise-grade AI tech in every grocer's hands, whether it's a small, local independent or a national chain." The collection of new AI Solutions includes an AI shopping assistant that grocers can provide to shoppers for personalized meal planning, budgeting, and product recommendations. Dubbed Cart Assistant, the agent can be used across retailers' websites through Instacart's Storefront Pro or integrated into the company's AI-powered shopping carts in-store, according to a release. Sprouts Farmers Market and Kroger will be the first to roll out Cart Assistant on its website and app. "AI is transforming the way people shop and today's customers want the experience to be more personal and intuitive," said Sprouts President and Chief Operating Officer Nick Konat in a release.

Instacart debuts white-label AI shopping chatbot in enterprise push

Instacart is adding artificial intelligence-powered tools for grocers, including an assistant that can make product recommendations, the latest in a growing effort to sell enterprise software to retailers. The company said Tuesday that its AI shopping assistant will be offered as part of its white-label ecommerce service, which powers the online shopping sites for some grocery chains like Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. and Publix Super Markets. The chatbot will be tested on Sprouts' website and app over the coming months, Instacart said in a statement on Tuesday. It will also be available on Kroger's iPhone app, it said. After the integration, Sprouts' online users could, for example, ask the assistant to create a meal plan for a family of four with two kids, cooking three times a week with two leftover dinners. The chatbot would take into account any dietary preferences in the user profile and respond with three menu suggestions, according to a demo video provided by Instacart. It would then offer the option for users to generate three new recipes or directly add the ingredients specified in the menu into their shopping cart for faster check-out. To power more accurate recommendations, Instacart said it's also helping retailers build richer product catalogs that contain detailed nutritional and ingredient data. The AI updates underscore Instacart's growing push into higher-margin software offerings to drive revenue and profit gains. The company, which publicly trades as Maplebear Inc., makes nearly a third of its revenue from non-delivery transactions, including grocery technology solutions and advertising sales. "The opportunity here is for a new enhanced level of personalization through the shopping experience," said Chief Executive Officer Chris Rogers, who took over the top job from Fidji Simo after she left in August to be OpenAI's CEO of Applications. "It's really about putting enterprise-grade AI tech in every grocer's hands, whether it's a small, local independent retailer or one of the national chains that we work with, so that they can compete and they can innovate and they can serve their customers better." Instacart has been an early development partner to OpenAI to let ChatGPT and its AI browser Atlas complete shopping tasks on its website on users' behalf. Instacart, which surfaces items from more than 1,800 retail brands on its platform, said it will leverage its "close partnerships" and "ongoing efforts" with companies like OpenAI, Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Microsoft Corp. to ensure its shopping experience works across new chatbots and AI tools. These AI tools are designed to handle consumer requests without the need of a company employee. No one is sure how much such AI agents will drive business, but "we are embracing it full-on as a company," Rogers said. Instacart said its AI tools also include interpreting images and videos it obtains from its delivery couriers and its camera-enabled shopping carts to keep grocery stores informed of real-time shelf inventory. It said the feature has been live at Good Food Holdings stores and is coming soon to McKeever's.

Instacart Rolls Out New AI Solutions for Grocery Stores | PYMNTS.com

The grocery technology company announced the debut of Instacart's AI Solutions, a suite of offerings designed specifically for grocers to promote personalized shopping for their customers, the release said. "AI is transforming how people shop for groceries and feed their families, and Instacart is uniquely positioned to help retailers, from national chains and regional favorites to local independents, harness that change and drive meaningful results for their customers and business," Instacart CEO Chris Rogers said in the release. "These new AI solutions mark the next chapter in our enterprise story, empowering retailers to turn generative and agentic AI into a true competitive edge. In an era of rapid technological change, we're helping grocers of all sizes not only keep pace, but also compete, and win, in an AI-powered world." Among the offerings is an agentic commerce solution provided through integrations with AI companies such as Google, Microsoft and OpenAI. In time, Instacart expects every generative AI company to connect to its grocery engine, joining their consumer reach with its network of retail partners, according to the release. "As consumers adopt AI platforms for ideation and shopping, our collaboration with generative AI companies enables retailers to capture a larger share of these evolving, AI-driven baskets," the release said. Retailers involved in the launch include Sprouts Farmers Market, Good Food Holdings and Kroger, which announced its own expanded partnership with Instacart in a separate Tuesday press release. "Agentic shopping has the potential to change the way American families shop and eat," Kroger Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer Yael Cosset said in the release. "Interacting with an AI agent makes shopping and meal planning as simple as a conversation, helping customers build their basket or offering meal suggestions, truly understanding what matters most to them." The new offerings come as agentic AI leads to a "reinvention of commerce," PYMNTS reported Oct. 10. "Instead of waiting for humans to press 'buy,' commerce is being restructured today around prompts as the new interface," the report said. "What emerges is a new operating system."