Woolworths has announced a partnership with Google to incorporate agentic artificial intelligence into its “Olive” chatbot, starting in Australia later this year.

Until now, Olive has largely answered questions, resolved problems and directed shoppers to information.

Soon, Olive will be able to do more: planning meals, interpreting handwritten recipes, applying loyalty discounts and placing suggested items directly into a customer’s online shopping basket.

Woolworths says Olive will not complete purchases automatically, and customers will still need to approve and pay for orders.

This distinction is important, but risks understating what’s actually changing. By the time a shopper reaches the checkout, many of the substantive decisions about what to buy may already have been shaped by the system.

The most significant change for shoppers is how decisions will be made during the shopping process – and who makes them.

Google describes its new system as a “proactive digital concierge” that understands customer intent, reasons through multi-step tasks, and executes actions.

Major United States retailers, including Walmart, Kroger and Lowe’s, are........

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