Dive Brief:
- InStore.ai has launched Ask InStore, a conversational AI included in the retail intelligence company’s latest Retailer Platform, according to a press release last week.
- The tool lets retailers ask questions about what’s happening in their stores and get real-time answers based on data from in-store conversations, according to the announcement. The program can also save conversations and suggest questions.
- The news comes a few weeks after Tote AI unveiled HQ Genie AI, which allows employees to ask questions about operations and receive answers quickly.
Dive Insight:
As retailers become more comfortable with AI, more automated tools designed with the complex needs of c-stores in mind are emerging.
InStore.ai captures and analyzes customer conversations that happen at the store counter, with data from those interactions used to support Ask InStore’s answers.
Other updates in the latest platform include deeper KPI reports, more precise out-of-stock alerts, expanded reporting on inventory and loyalty, and improvements to product and brand recognition.
HQ Genie, meanwhile, draws on operational data from across the store, including information from the devices connected through Tote Device Cloud. This allows corporate help desk teams to find and diagnose operational and equipment issues, for example. It also has an agentic workflow feature in beta designed to automate recurring tasks.
The tool is already in use at Huck's Market, Loop Neighborhood Market and Spinx.
