Shipt, owned by Target, has unveiled Ask Shipt, an AI-powered assistant that lets customers generate personalized shopping carts through natural language requests or photo uploads. This addition places Shipt among several delivery services incorporating AI to simplify and enhance grocery shopping experiences.
- AI assistant creates customized grocery carts from prompts or photos
- Supports budget-based meal planning and specific event shopping
- Part of broader AI integration efforts at Target and its platforms
What happened
Shipt introduced Ask Shipt, an AI-powered shopping assistant that allows users to build grocery carts by describing their needs in natural language or by uploading photos of dishes. For example, a user can ask for a cart suitable for a large tailgate event or for easy school lunches, and the AI will assemble the relevant items automatically.
The assistant also offers budget-based suggestions, like curating meals for a set number of people under a specified price. This feature is now live in the Shipt app and on Shipt.com, joining other recent AI advancements at Target such as photo search and personalized review summaries.
Why it matters
As competition intensifies in online grocery and food delivery services, AI offers a powerful way to differentiate by improving user convenience and personalization. Shipt’s investment in an AI assistant responds to growing consumer demand for intuitive, quick, and tailored shopping experiences.
By enabling customers to quickly generate ready-to-purchase carts based on complex or specific requests, Shipt reduces friction in the ordering process and encourages higher engagement. This also aligns with Target’s broader strategy of integrating AI across its digital platforms to drive sales growth and customer loyalty.
What to watch next
It will be important to monitor how widely Ask Shipt is adopted and whether it positively impacts order frequency, average basket size, and customer retention within Shipt’s user base. Consumer feedback regarding the precision of AI-generated carts and ease of use will also influence future improvements.
Additionally, observe how competing delivery apps continue to evolve their AI shopping assistants, as seen with recent launches by Instacart, Uber Eats, and DoorDash. The next phase will likely involve deeper personalization features and expanded AI-driven recommendations integrated smoothly within app experiences.