Australian retailers adopting artificial intelligence

Australian supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths are exploring various artificial intelligence and surveillance technologies to address operational challenges and changing consumer habits.

Initially, efforts focused on security, with Coles and Woolworths investigating facial recognition technology to combat rising retail crime, such as theft and violence against staff. While Coles conducted a controlled proof-of-concept test, the potential use of such technology has raised privacy concerns regarding data storage and consumer consent.

More recently, Woolworths has disclosed the integration of AI tools to enhance internal efficiency. This includes ‘Team Assist’, an AI tool that handles approximately 7,000 employee inquiries per week, and a marketing tool that has significantly reduced the production time for the company’s weekly catalogue. These developments coincide with research indicating a shift in Australian consumer behavior, where a majority of consumers now trust AI recommendations as much as or more than advice from retail staff.