Boise, Idaho — Albertsons Companies, Inc. is marking a major milestone in its digital transformation journey: the launch of the Albertsons AI shopping assistant, an industry-leading web browser experience designed to make grocery shopping faster, smarter and more personalized. As the industry leans into agentic commerce, the Albertsons AI shopping assistant moves beyond search to execute complex end‑to‑end grocery tasks helping customers complete shopping, from recipe to cart, in minutes. Building on the success of the company’s Ask AI tool introduced earlier this year, the agentic shopping assistant is a customer-friendly conversational experience powered by many collaborative agents, now available on all Albertsons Cos. banner websites as Albertsons AI, Safeway AI, Vons AI, Jewel-Osco AI and more.
“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,” says Jill Pavlovich, senior vice president, digital customer experience for Albertsons Cos. “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. The Albertsons AI shopping assistant is an exciting step in this journey, with much more innovation to come.”
Powered by Open AI models, the Albertsons AI shopping assistant aims to reduce grocery shopping time from an average of 46 minutes to as little as 4 minutes by helping customers plan meals, restock essentials, discover new products and shop smarter. The assistant can be accessed on banner web browsers in the Meals Hub and exemplifies agentic commerce, meaning it doesn’t just answer questions, it actively completes shopping tasks for customers, such as:
• Rapid Restock: Quickly reorder weekly essentials and frequent purchases.
• Plan Meals: Generate a practical weekly meal plan and shopping list with de-duplicated ingredients added to cart.
• Shop Lists: Type or upload an image of a written grocery list, and the assistant will find personalized products for everything on the list.
• Fridge Cleaner: Discover recipes using what’s already in the fridge and pantry, saving money and reducing food waste.
• Shop Recipe: Instantly import an online recipe or image and add ingredients to cart.
• Event-Ready: Choose a theme, or let the assistant use the next upcoming holiday, and see curated product ideas with offers.
Expanding into the Albertsons Cos. banner mobile apps in early 2026, the Albertsons AI shopping assistant will launch additional agentic commerce capabilities including budget optimization, in-store aisle location to find a specific product and voice integration. Additionally, the assistant’s multi‑agent architecture sets the stage for compatibility with off‑platform agents, opening doors for future integrations with experiences like apps in the chat feature.
With the launch of the Albertsons AI agentic shopping assistant, Albertsons Cos. is underscoring its commitment to innovation and customer-centric solutions, harnessing cutting-edge AI to deliver a smarter, more connected grocery experience.
For more information, visit www.albertsons.com/assistant.
Albertsons Companies is a leading food and drug retailer in the United States. As of September 6, 2025, the company operated 2,257 retail stores with 1,720 in-store pharmacies, 405 associated fuel centers, 22 dedicated distribution centers and 19 manufacturing facilities. The company operates stores across 35 states and the District of Columbia under 22 well known banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, ACME, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, Carrs, Kings Food Markets and Balducci’s Food Lovers Market.
SOURCE: Albertsons Companies