First for Papa Johns as pizza brand taps Google Cloud Food Ordering agentic solution

This week at NRF 2026, Papa Johns announced that it is the first partner for Google Cloud's newly expanded AI solution, Food Ordering agent, which is helping the pizza brand deploy a fully unified voice and text AI ordering system aimed at removing friction across customer touchpoints.

The Food Ordering agent is a part of Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience.

Moving beyond its initial deployment in drive-thru automation, this is an omnichannel platform that enables brands to deploy voice AI agents across mobile apps, websites, telephones, kiosks, and in-car systems.

"Papa Johns is a digitally driven business and, as such, one of our strategic priorities is investing in our technology to deliver a more seamless experience across our assets and owned channels, better connect with our customers, and support greater efficiency across our operations by leveraging data and AI," says Kevin Vasconi, Chief Digital and Technology Officer at Papa Johns.

"Our partnership with Google Cloud embodies our commitment to doing exactly that. We're using Google Cloud's Food Ordering agent to reimagine what's possible for our customers. This isn't just an app update; it's a fundamental shift in how our customers interact with our brand digitally, making it faster, smarter, and more seamless than ever before."

"The retail industry is entering the era of agentic commerce, where AI is an engine for business value," says Carrie Tharp, Vice President of Global Solutions and Industries at Google Cloud. "By being the first to deploy our omnichannel Food Ordering agent, Papa Johns is moving beyond the chatbot era to create a fluid, intelligent experience that meets hungry customers wherever they are, whether they are in their car, on an app, or at a kiosk."

RTIH AI in Retail Awards

RTIH proudly presents the first edition of its AI in Retail Awards, sponsored by VenHub Global, 3D Cloud and EdTech Innovation Hub.

This is now open for entries. Deadline for submissions is Friday, 5th December. It’s free to enter and you can do so across multiple categories.

Check out categories and entry forms here.

As we witness a digital transformation revolution across all channels, AI tools are reshaping the omnichannel game, from personalising customer experiences to optimising inventory, uncovering insights into consumer behaviour, and enhancing the human element of retailers' businesses.

With 2025 set to be the year when AI and especially gen AI shake off the ‘heavily hyped’ tag and become embedded in retail business processes, our newly launched awards celebrate global technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world and the resulting benefits for retailers, shoppers and employees.

Our 2025 winners will be those companies who not only recognise the potential of AI, but also make it usable in everyday work - resulting in more efficiency and innovation in all areas.

Winners will be announced at an evening event at The Barbican in Central London on Thursday, 29th January. This will kick off with a drinks reception in the stunning Conservatory, followed by a three course meal, and awards ceremony in the Garden Room.