Working Side-by-Side With Target’s Generative AI

We’re now getting a closer look at how artificial intelligence is permeating into the workplace setting with news of Target’s generative AI endeavors to support store workers. Target’s AI chatbot, the Store Companion, is scheduled to benefit thousands of the company’s workers, arriving across 2,000 stores in the region by August. The chatbot is designed to help workers navigate their jobs more easily, allowing them to seek answers to questions about processes that are relevant to their work. Instead of excessively relying on managers to help with clearing up some doubts about elements of the role, employees will soon be able to turn to the Target AI Store Companion instead. 

The AI chatbot could be really useful for new employees who have to take in a lot of information all at once, giving them a chance to refresh their memory about how to issue a specific benefit at work. It could also cover more specific details that may not have come up explicitly during the training process, giving them a chance to learn everything they need at once.

Image: Target

Target’s Generative AI Chatbot Hopes To Support Store Employees

Target Corporation announced its plans to bring an AI chatbot to 2,000 stores in the next month, becoming the first retailer to introduce such technology to store members in the U.S. Target’s AI Store Companion is designed to answer questions that employees have about their jobs in simple terms, aiding them in accomplishing tasks more easily and efficiently. The chatbot can also coach new team members and support store operations management by speeding up the process of finding a solution to a problem and catering to a customer’s needs.

“We know technology will continue to play an outsized role in the future of retail — for our team members, our guests, and our business. With that in mind, we’re continually experimenting with new tools to make it even easier for our team to do their jobs and to bring more of what guests love about shopping at Target to life. The transformative nature of GenAI is helping us accelerate the rate of innovation across our operations, and we’re excited about the role these new tools and applications will play in driving growth.”

—Brett Craig, executive vice president and chief information officer, Target

Evidently, Target’s generative AI plans extend beyond in-store support for employees but this does appear to be the first step in a much larger action plan for the future. The company’s full-year earnings highlights from 2023 showed that the company had an earnings per share of $8.94 USD in 2023, which was 50 percent higher than in 2022. It had an operating income margin rate of 5.3 percent and its operating income dollars grew by nearly $2 billion USD. Additionally, their efficiency efforts led to savings of more than $500 billion for the year, and if successful, Target’s generative AI efforts should show similar numbers in 2024.

How Does Target’s AI Store Companion Work?

Target’s generative AI model is currently being tested at about 400 stores so the company can develop a good understanding of how it works and whether it gives employees what they need to do their jobs. To develop the AI chatbot, Target’s tech team looked at frequently asked questions and process documents from the store teams to determine everything an employee would need to know or questions that have previously come up on the job. 

This is a good strategy as it ensures that past employees’ on-the-job experiences are channeled into improving the work experience for all future employees. Feedback from the beta testing has been circulated back into Target’s AI which is designed for its employees to build their expertise.

According to Jake Seaquist, a store director at one of the pilot centers in Champlin, employees have reacted positively to the Store Companion. Target’s AI for its employees has seemingly streamlined work and increased the amount of time team members have been able to spend with guests rather than on management behind the counter. 

Image: Target

Going Beyond Target’s AI App for Employee

Target’s generative AI ambitions extend beyond bringing the Store Companion to its employees’ handheld devices. The company’s website has also been boosted by AI, providing guests with review summaries and relevant product descriptions. Product search has also been boosted, along with a guided search feature to help visitors use conversational language to find what they want. The application of AI has the potential to simplify and support a significant number of complex processes within an organization, and Target appears to be on the right track to identify a few of them. 

While Target’s AI chatbot is looking at a successful rollout in the upcoming months, not every business has been able to integrate AI in an efficient way. Fast food company McDonald’s had partnered with IBM back in 2019 to establish an AI system at around 100 drive-through restaurants. Despite their best intentions, the systems have led to more mishaps than good reviews. Instead of working with its employees, this system was designed to do a job that employees have held at the organization—taking orders. McDonald’s is shutting down the trial entirely for now, but it hasn’t given up the possibility of incorporating such tech into its business model in the future.

Price Chopper and McKeever’s Market and Eatery are two businesses that have recently adopted Instacart’s AI smart cart, Caper Carts. These devices are designed to help shoppers track their purchases as they pack items into the cart, helping them skip the checkout lines, according to PR Newswire. We’ll have to wait to see how successful this system is before we understand its place in the modern world, where it reduces the requirement of manpower at work.

From the instances we’ve seen with Target’s generative AI and IKEA’s AI literacy initiative, employees are not opposed to AI when it helps with their roles and improves productivity. Workers are more than willing to take technological advancements in their stride in such cases. Employee resistance to AI comes in when companies threaten to replace their roles with an AI that can do the job better. There is also some resistance to AI when it is used excessively. A recent study by Harvard Business Review found that employees who have to excessively collaborate with AI feel more socially deprived and lonely.

Just like the Target AI for employees, businesses need to find common ground with their workers and explore the applications of AI in a way that supports workers better without stepping on their toes.

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