Kohl's Is Using Google Gemini to Help Customers Find Gifts.

Kohl's CEO Michael Bender used the company's Q1 2026 earnings call on May 28, 2026 to confirm the launch of an AI-powered Gift Finder on the Kohl's website, the company's first named AI product announcement and its first named AI partnership with Google, disclosed publicly on a live investor call.

"Earlier this month, we launched a gift finder on our website that is powered by AI through Google Gemini," Bender said in his prepared remarks. "We're encouraged by the initial results and about the potential for these AI-enabled experiences. These enhanced shopping experiences will help improve product discovery and customer engagement, with further opportunity to support conversion and reduce friction across the shopping journey over time."

The disclosure comes as Kohl's executes a broader digital overhaul, enhancing its omnichannel platform to create a frictionless shopping experience.

The Gift Finder sits inside a wider set of digital improvements that also include more curated digital experiences, improved product storytelling, brand-level filters, clearer delivery information, and easier returns.

Two AI Deployments, Two Different Functions

The Gift Finder is the customer-facing AI story, but the earnings call contained a second AI disclosure that is less visible and arguably more operationally significant.

CFO Jill Timm disclosed that Kohl's is deploying AI within its credit servicing operations to reduce costs.

"We continue to employ technology and AI within our servicing efforts, and we're seeing some of those things come through our credit line in terms of savings," she said in the context of explaining how corporate SG&A savings are being generated and reinvested into sales-driving initiatives.

That dual deployment, AI for customer discovery and AI for operational cost reduction, is consistent with the pattern visible across retail earnings calls this season. Retailers with maturing AI deployments are disclosing AI as both a revenue growth tool and a cost management mechanism simultaneously.

The Gift Finder launch arrives in a quarter where Kohl's digital business is showing real momentum. Digital sales grew 4% in Q1, fueled by increased traffic as the company modernized its digital experience.

Including marketplace GMV, comparable sales would have improved by approximately 50 basis points, from -1.1% to -0.6%, demonstrating the digital channel's growing contribution to the overall business even as store traffic remains under pressure.

Bender also confirmed that Kohl's digital marketplace, which offers products beyond its core assortment, will more than double its offering this year, creating additional discovery surface area that the Gift Finder and other AI-enabled experiences can help customers navigate.

Q1 2026 was Kohl's best quarterly comparable sales performance in over four years. EPS loss of $0.13 beat the forecasted loss of $0.21 by 38%. The company's stock surged 18% in pre-market trading following the results.