Waitrose has expanded a trial of an AI assistant app which provides live product availability and item information to “provide customers with outstanding service, and communicate their knowledge and passion for food”.
Named Rosie 2.0, the app responds to text and voice requests, giving store workers up-to-date availability of products and their location within the store. It also provides product nutrition and sustainability information, as well as “cooking and recipe recommendations”.
The app was initially trialled among staff at Waitrose’s Newbury store in November, but the pilot of the “innovative first-to-market AI app” has now been extended to a “handful” of additional locations.
Bury St Edmunds store assistant Matthew Wordley said the app has proved “a game-changer for partners on the frontline”.
“When I first started, checking stock for customers involved using a clunky, outdated system that was long overdue for an upgrade. Fast-forward to today, the partner experience is much better,” he posted on LinkedIn.
Wordley said he had used the app to serve up substitutions for out-of-stock products, and suggest wine pairings for a customer’s chosen cheese.
“I’ll admit, I used to be fairly sceptical about AI, but seeing how it directly improves workplace efficiency, empowers partners, and elevates customer service has changed my view completely,” he said.
The app is part of a £50m investment in tech Waitrose is making across its store estate to “enhance the customer journey and partner experience”.
As well as the app, the tech rollout includes electronic shelf labels which “free up partners from having to insert printed labels” and “brand-new handheld devices used to check stock and answer customer queries” which are being rolled out to all of Waitrose’s more than 300 shops.
Several supermarkets have begun trialling AI-powered assistants for their shopfloor staff. In January, Sainsbury’s revealed it had equipped Argos staff with handheld devices and apps “that give them access to task and knowledge support in real time”. As well as providing on-the-job assistance, it also enables “faster, better-informed responses to customer queries at Argos counters”, the supermarket said.
Walmart’s ‘Ask Sam’ app was launched in 2020, allowing workers to look up prices, access store maps, find products, view sales information, and check email via voice. It has now been replaced by the chain’s new AI tool Squiggly.
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