“AI is redefining what’s possible in retail,” said Gap Inc.’s chief technology officer Sven Gerjets, announcing a new partnership with Google Cloud.
The remark capped a year of steady change inside the retailer, which has been merging dozens of separate AI projects into one system that now touches design, marketing, and operations across all of its brands.
Building AI capability
Before the Google Cloud deal, Gap took steps to build internal capability. It established an Office of AI, responsible for coordinating AI across its operations. Chief executive Richard Dickson said in early 2025: “In 2025, we will be developing AI monetization opportunities relative to the consumer experience, product to market, as well as organizational productivity.”
Gap also brought in specialized AI tools years before the Google announcement. In 2021, Gap acquired CB4, a company that applies machine learning for demand sensing and store operations. In the same year, it acquired Drapr, whose virtual fitting and measured-avatar technologies address online fit and returns. These earlier moves provided tools and expertise within Gap’s ecosystem.
In mid-2025, Gap extended AI use beyond retail to sustainability and supply chain. It announced a collaboration with FIDO Tech for a project in Bengaluru, India, using acoustic sensor data and AI to detect and rank leaks in underground water pipelines. Gap said it will support this work over a ten-year period. The company said this work will improve water resilience in communities tied to its supply chain.
In its financial reporting, Gap has linked AI investments to its digital and e-commerce trajectory. In Q2 of fiscal 2025, Gap reported net sales of $3.7 billion, with online sales rising and representing 34 percent of total net sales. The report noted that tariffs and rising costs had pressure on merchandise margin. Gap said it planned to continue investing in digital capabilities.
A unified platform with Google Cloud
When Gap announced the Google Cloud partnership on October 9th last week, it described a relatively broad AI agenda. The company said it will use Google Cloud’s stack: Gemini, Vertex AI, BigQuery, to build a unified AI-powered platform across its brands. Press coverage and trade media said the unified platform will support improvements in product innovation, customer experience and marketing, and employee workflows.
Under product innovation, Gap said AI tools will accelerate design, planning, and pricing processes. Under customer experience, the company said it would enable hyper-personalized shopping, smarter recommendations, and omnichannel engagement. Under employee workflows, Gap said it will embed AI agents into team processes as partners in decision making and execution. Gerjets added: “By redesigning our workflows and putting AI in the hands of every employee, we are freeing Gap Inc. teams to focus on creativity, culture, and customer connection.”
Gap plans to bring over 200 existing AI models into the new platform so they can run in a consistent environment. Gap had previously publicized that it would move internal models to Gemini.
The partnership claims to be a “unified, AI-powered platform” to boost e-commerce and internal operations. The coverage repeated Gap’s three benefit areas (product, marketing, employee) and cited Gerjets’s statement about building a future technology roadmap around AI.
The deal was framed as part of Gap’s effort to “become a digital-first business.” According to Gerjets, the deal is part of Gap’s effort to become a digital-first business, “By rethinking workflows and making AI tools available across the company, we are enabling teams to focus on what truly matters: creativity, culture, and customer connection.”
In a LinkedIn post Gerjets said “Not every shiny object belongs in the tech stack,” calling for a “ruthless” approach to vetting AI tools. This is in line with consumer expectations. According to a Genesys survey, four out of five consumers say they want businesses to deploy AI with robust guardrails because they do not trust the technology.
Earlier, in Gap’s Q4 2024 earnings materials (released March 2025), the company said Gerjets, who joined in mid-2024, had started building technology initiatives: “We began to cultivate a digital-first organization and mindset… standing up an Office of AI… with early use cases primarily related to employee enablement.”
That same document reports that Gap intended to shift its focus toward continuous improvement by optimizing investment in new platforms.
Gap’s public documents and media coverage also include some financial context that supports AI investment. In the second quarter of fiscal 2025, the company reported a cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments balance of $2.4 billion. up 13 percent from the prior year.
By late 2025 Gap Inc. has consolidated its prior AI experiments and acquisitions under a new, large-scale partnership with Google Cloud. The company is folding existing models into unified infrastructure, and positioning AI across product design, marketing, personalization, and employee workflows. Its sustainability work via FIDO offers a further example of AI beyond retail.
