| AI joins me in the grocery aisles—and transforms the way I shop From olive oil to oat milk, a chatbot helped me make smarter, more sustainable choices. It made me laugh, too. | ||
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| I'm never quite sure which eggs to buy. Is one kind of plant-based milk more sustainable than another? I'm grilling this weekend—any vegan meat brands worth trying. Questions like these haunt my grocery store visits. In the past I have occasionally Googled things—and stood in the aisle, often in people's way, scrolling through websites. Once or twice, I even used a brand QR code to learn more about the product. Not a satisfying experience. For a recent swing through Natural Grocers in Boulder, Colorado, however, I brought along a virtual assistant, one of the AI chatbot mobile apps. I wondered if it could improve my grocery store navigation. Without reservation, the answer is yes. Without hyperbole, the answer is "OMG, absolutely yes. " The bot so bolstered and even enriched my experience that I'm dividing my day of AI-assisted shopping into two columns. This one will explore how the technology helped me with buying food and household goods. Next week's will examine the complex world of supplements. The technology transforms the grocery shopping experience. I know retailers today are exploring ways to incorporate this kind of AI technology into their stores and apps. But for those of us marching down the aisles, there's no need to wait. The technology's awesome power already dwells in millions of pockets and purses. Continued below… |
