Rudy Lai
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AI @ Kroger

Largest U.S. grocery chain
Industry
Last updated
July 3, 2025 at 10:44 AM

Summary

  • Kroger has progressively adopted AI technologies since 2019, starting with in-store innovations like the Kroger EDGE enhanced digital displays, moving through deployment of AI-powered self-checkout solutions reducing errors by 75% by 2023, and expanding into generative AI applications for marketing, recipe recommendations, and online marketplace management by 2024.
  • The company partnered with key vendors such as Everseen for visual AI self-checkout technology and Intelligence Node for AI-powered dynamic pricing and optimized product listings in its marketplace, reflecting increasing AI sophistication and scale across operations, helping improve customer experience and operational efficiency.
  • Despite technological advances, Kroger's AI-driven dynamic pricing systems sparked public controversy and privacy concerns by 2024, while leadership changes such as former Chief Data Officer Todd James leaving in 2025 signal ongoing transformation in Kroger's AI strategy and ecosystem development including launching an internal AI factory to accelerate adoption.

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6 AI Use Cases at Kroger

AI Adoption Acceleration
2025
Traditional
Generative
Agentic
Outcome
Costs
Kroger developed an internal AI factory in collaboration with 84.51° to accelerate safe and efficient AI model development and deployment across its business functions. [1]
Inventory Management
2025
Traditional
Generative
Agentic
Outcome
Costs
Kroger uses AI to enable inventory and shrinkage management improvements, helping optimize stock levels and reduce waste across store operations. [1]
Dynamic Pricing
2024
Customer Facing
Traditional
Generative
Agentic
Outcome
Revenue
Kroger employs AI-driven dynamic pricing using electronic shelf labels and retail analytics to adjust prices in real time, optimizing sales and margins, although this approach has drawn privacy and fairness concerns. [1][2]
Marketplace Optimization
2024
Customer Facing
Traditional
Generative
Agentic
Outcome
Through a partnership with Intelligence Node, Kroger applies AI to improve content management, product descriptions, and search outcomes in its online marketplace, enhancing seller performance and customer experience. [1][2]
Personalized Recipes
2020
Customer Facing
Traditional
Generative
Agentic
Outcome
Kroger launched a Twitter-based tool that delivers personalized recipe recommendations based on ingredients users already have, leveraging AI to enhance customer engagement and drive sales. [1]
Checkout Error Reduction
2020
Traditional
Generative
Agentic
Outcome
Kroger uses AI-powered computer vision at self-checkout lanes to detect and correct customer purchase errors in real time, reducing the need for employee intervention and speeding up checkout processes. [1][2][3]

Timeline

2025 Q4

1 updates

Kroger regarded as a defensive value stock with strong moats and benefiting cautiously from technology and AI trends.

2025 Q3

1 updates

Kroger accelerates AI adoption with internal 'AI factory' and leverages AI across fulfillment, marketplace and data science functions despite mixed market perceptions.

2025 Q2

1 updates

Todd James, former Kroger Chief Data Officer, departs to lead an AI consultancy. Kroger scales AI for inventory and shrink management.

2025 Q1: no updates

2024 Q4

1 updates

Investment in EDGE system continues as Kroger expands AI in-store technology and digital shelf management.

2024 Q3

1 updates

Kroger's AI dynamic pricing system raised privacy and fairness concerns, sparking public debate and attracting criticism while continuing diverse AI deployments.

2024 Q2: no updates

2024 Q1

1 updates

Partnership with Intelligence Node to apply generative AI for enhancing marketplace product listings, dynamic pricing, and marketing content.

2023 Q4

1 updates

Kroger's AI solutions corrected 75% of self-checkout errors without employee intervention, enhancing checkout speed and customer satisfaction.

2023 Q3: no updates

2023 Q2

1 updates

Kroger at forefront of using generative AI and analytics to improve customer and associate experiences.

2023 Q1

1 updates

Deployment of various Google Cloud AI, data analytics, and machine learning tools to enhance Kroger's applications.

2022 Q4: no updates

2022 Q3

2 updates

Kroger advanced its visual AI self-checkout beyond pilot phase and partnered with Lenovo to enhance AI-powered retail solutions.

2022 Q2: no updates

2022 Q1: no updates

2021 Q4: no updates

2021 Q3: no updates

2021 Q2: no updates

2021 Q1: no updates

2020 Q4

2 updates

Kroger adopted Everseen's AI to reduce self-checkout errors and launched Chefbot, an AI Twitter tool delivering personalized recipe recommendations.

2020 Q3

2 updates

Kroger partnered with Everseen to roll out Visual AI technology for self-checkout to 2,500 stores, aiming to reduce checkout errors.

2020 Q2: no updates

2020 Q1: no updates

2019 Q4: no updates

2019 Q3: no updates

2019 Q2

1 updates

Introduction of Kroger EDGE (Enhanced Display for Grocery Environment), a new AI-enabled technology enhancing in-store grocery displays.