US grocery and pharmacy chain Albertson's uses AI search tools to increase customer basket size by 10% and drive revenue growth.
The company reported overall net sales and other income for the 12 weeks ended November 29, 2025 of $19.12 billion, an increase of 1.9% year over year. However, it grew 21% during the quarter, driven by digital sales. This has increased the company's market share, with penetration now at 9.5 percent.
As part of the company's AI and technology transformation, last year it became the first retailer to introduce an AI search tool based on Google Cloud's Conversational Commerce agent.
The Ask AI tool aims to make online shopping more intuitive by simplifying product searches and personalizing recommendations. This tool can be accessed from the search bar in all banner store apps for retailers such as Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, ACME, and Tom Thumb.
Built on Vertex AI, the Conversational Commerce agent detects shopper intent and preferences and chats with you in real-time to provide relevant results and product recommendations. This directly boosts sales, as customers often add items to their purchases. Susan Morris, CEO of AlbertsonsThis was stated in the company's quarterly financial results announcement.
“By leveraging AI, we are creating differentiated experiences that go beyond convenience. AI increases basket size, drives repeat trips, and deepens loyalty. Early results are compelling.”
“Our Ask AI search capability has already increased the basket size of customers using it by 10% and is showing significant revenue growth as adoption grows.”
In December 2025, Albertsons added a web browser-based AI shopping assistant powered by OpenAI. The assistant is built on a search tool that uses multiple co-agents to perform more complex tasks, such as restocking essentials, adding items directly to shoppers' baskets from recipes, and planning special occasions. “All of this helps us deepen our basket and repeat trips,” Morris said, adding:
“[O]Our autonomous shopping assistants meet customers where they are, provide frictionless personalized journeys, and keep our omnichannel customer experience in line with the latest trends. ”
AI assistants interact with customers in natural language, receive personalized recommendations, and build baskets faster. According to Albertsons, the average American consumer spends an estimated 46 minutes shopping at the grocery store, but with Assistant, that time can be reduced to as little as four minutes. OpenAI introduced AgentKit, a set of tools for developers and enterprises to build, deploy, and optimize agents, in October 2025, and Albertsons was one of the customers announced at the launch.
“This innovation improves customer convenience while strengthening our competitive advantage by leveraging rich data to optimize marketing, improve loyalty and unlock new monetization opportunities,” said Morris.
Digital engagement drives spending growth as agentic commerce gains momentum
Albertsons found that customers who are digitally engaged spend approximately two to three times more than those who are not. Engagement grows even more as customers expand their experience with the retailer's ecosystem through online ordering, loyalty, and app features.
Agent commerce is expected to gain traction in 2026, and when the company expands its AI assistant to its mobile app earlier this year, it plans to add further features such as budgeting, in-store aisle location to help shoppers find specific products, and voice integration. The Assistant's multi-agent architecture will also enable future integration with agents external to the app, such as through chat functionality.
The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) predicts that agent AI will evolve and consumers will also be using their own AI agents for shopping within the next five years. Agenttic commerce will change the way consumers shop by anticipating their needs and proactively making purchases based on learned and defined preferences rather than specific prompts.
This means that not only will AI assistants at retailers like Albertsons recommend products, but a customer's AI shopping companion will be able to evaluate purchases based on the customer's bank account and other spending plans, schedule purchases around seasonal sales events, and even negotiate prices directly with sellers, according to ICO.
Retailers need to prepare for agent commerce by not only accommodating external agents working within their systems, but also by providing AI assistants at digital touchpoints. This also creates an opportunity to build loyalty and trust.
William Malcolm, Executive Director of Regulatory Risk and Innovationsaid:
“Agent AI will have the ability to independently make decisions and take action. Our own personal AI agents could pay for goods, book flights, and help with household finances. The potential benefits could be transformative, but the public must ensure that their personal information is secure and well-managed before trusting agent systems.”
Morris said on Albertson's earnings call that the company is expanding AI across its business, including internal departments as well as customer-facing departments.
“We're not just deploying AI. We're extending AI across the enterprise to fundamentally change how we operate and the Albertsons experience for our customers. This is not an incremental change. It's designed to be an incremental change in speed, intelligence, and personalization.”
The company is making “big transformative bets” in four areas: Beyond the digital customer experience, the company is also deploying GenAI to optimize workforce forecasting and scheduling to reduce costs while improving the employee experience through intuitive conversational tools.
“AI allows us to put the right employees in the right place at the right time, which not only improves productivity, but also improves customer service,” said Morris.
This is intended to simplify complex scheduling tasks, free up employees to focus on customer interactions, and ensure consistency across store locations.
Morris said the company also uses AI demand forecasting in its supply chain operations to help track products from vendor to customer.
“By applying advanced analytics and computer vision, we are improving predictive accuracy, fulfillment, quality and availability, optimizing workforce and inventory while ensuring our customers can find the products they need, when and where they need them.”
Morris said Albertsons' strategy is to turn technology into a growth engine, improve profit margins and deepen customer loyalty. Membership in the company's loyalty program grew 12% in the third quarter to more than 49 million members. We found that simplifying and strengthening the program increased engagement.
“Members are transacting more frequently, redeeming benefits more easily and spending more,” Morris said. “Our most loyal customers have undoubtedly seen tremendous growth in lifetime value, and our focus is to continue to build on that strength as they engage with us and provide a more personalized journey.”
