Albertsons Companies has introduced a new AI-powered shopping assistant across all its banner websites, marking one of the company’s most substantial digital upgrades and signaling a shift toward what the sector increasingly refers to as agentic commerce. The launch is designed to streamline the grocery planning and purchasing process, which Albertsons says typically takes close to 46 minutes, and reduces it to about four.
The system automates a series of tasks that consumers traditionally complete manually—from searching for recipes to checking for ingredients at home, creating lists and making product selections online. “Our goal at Albertsons Companies is to make our customers’ lives easier, and by implementing AI-powered features across the customer journey from discovery to purchase, we are delivering an experience that’s faster, easier and more enjoyable,” said Jill Pavlovich, senior vice president of Digital Customer Experience.
The assistant builds on the company’s earlier Ask AI tool but represents a significant shift in how digital grocery interactions are handled. Instead of offering isolated responses, the new system is designed to complete full shopping actions on behalf of the customer. Albertsons describes the model as “agentic” because it relies on multiple collaborative AI agents capable of understanding intent and carrying out multi-step tasks inside a conversational interface.
Available through the Meals Hub section on each Albertsons banner website under names such as Albertsons AI, Safeway AI, Vons AI and Jewel-Osco AI, the assistant can organize weekly essentials, assemble meal plans, translate written or uploaded grocery lists into product selections, and identify recipes based on ingredients already in the fridge or pantry. It can also import online recipes or images and convert them directly into a complete shopping cart. For themed events and upcoming holidays, the platform provides curated ideas and related product selections. The system supports natural-language back-and-forth, allowing customers to specify dietary preferences, meal portions and brand choices that guide the assistant’s selections.
“We are laser-focused on using AI as part of our strategy to meet customers when and how they choose to shop, ultimately driving customer growth and engagement through digital connection,” Pavlovich said. “The Albertsons AI shopping assistant is an exciting step in this journey, with much more innovation to come.”
Albertsons confirmed that the new assistant is part of a broader digital roadmap set to unfold in 2026. The company plans to bring the tool to its mobile apps early next year and extend its capabilities to include budget-based recommendations, in-store aisle location for specific items and voice-based interactions. Its multi-agent design is also built to support compatibility with external applications, enabling wider integrations across digital touchpoints.
The announcement lands at a time when grocery retailers are accelerating the adoption of AI-driven tools across their digital channels. Systems that can automate planning, reduce friction and anticipate customer needs are becoming core differentiators as the industry adjusts to rising expectations for convenience and personalization.
Beyond traditional grocery chains, companies in adjacent parts of the food ecosystem are deploying similarly advanced AI systems to compress operational timelines. Meal-kit provider HelloFresh has introduced a generative AI model that automates almost every step of its recipe-card production process, reducing a historically months-long workflow to a matter of hours. The company can now introduce new dishes more quickly, adjust menus at a faster pace and respond more rapidly to customer feedback, evolving food trends and ingredient availability across regions.
Albertsons has deployed the assistant across all its banner websites, where it now handles tasks such as meal planning, list generation, recipe imports, restocking and product recommendations. The company has also outlined its next set of confirmed updates for early 2026, which include budget-based features, in-store aisle location and voice functionality, along with expansion to its mobile apps. These capabilities form the next phase of the AI roadmap already announced by the grocer.
The launch enters a market where other major food and meal-service companies are also accelerating their AI workflows. HelloFresh, the world’s largest meal-kit provider, has deployed a generative AI system that automates nearly all production tasks involved in creating its recipe cards. The company has stated that the system reduces production time from months to hours and allows it to update menus, introduce new dishes and adjust recipes in response to customer feedback, food trends and ingredient availability across regions.
