US retail giants Kroger, Lowe’s, and Papa Johns have joined forces with Google’s Gemini Enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) service.
Announced at NRF 2026 this week, Gemini Enterprise will become a ‘digital concierge’ for customers, sourcing recommendations, remembering information, and executing complex tasks on their behalf.
The ‘shopping agent’ can understand image, video, and voice inputs, so shoppers don’t have to type what they are looking for into a search bar.
A Google spokesperson said the technology will create a “seamless experience for consumers”.
Seemantini Godbole, chief digital and information officer at Lowe’s, said they will use Gemini Enterprise to build on the company’s own AI tool, Mylow.
“Home improvement is inherently complex, so we’re using AI to simplify and personalize the experience,” Godbole added.
Kroger said it will integrate the technology to help ‘inspire’ customers.
“We’re inspiring our customers with meal and shopping solutions that feel truly personalized,” Yael Cosset, executive VP and chief digital officer at Kroger, added.
“Whether it’s building a basket for dinner or planning for the week ahead, we’re helping customers find the items they love, compare products, and deliver the value they expect, so there is more time for real connections made by sharing food.”
Enterprise will also implement a food agent system to improve the customer experience. Papa Johns, the world’s third-largest pizza delivery company, is the first customer to deploy this.
Beyond taking orders, the agent upsells based on the menu and serves as an analyst, providing restaurant operators with insights into performance data.
“Our partnership with Google Cloud is helping Papa Johns harness the power of AI to bring back the feeling of ‘being known’ to the pizza ordering experience,” said Kevin Vasconi, chief digital and technology officer, Papa Johns.
“We’re working together to personalize every interaction, simplify every decision, and remove friction within customer touchpoints, so that Papa Johns again becomes the technology leader in the pizza industry.”
