Albertsons Companies makes AI powered grocery shopping move with new Safeway plugin in ChatGPT
Albertsons Companies has announced a Safeway plugin in ChatGPT. The aim here is to help consumers discover products, evaluate options and complete their shopping journey in ChatGPT, while remaining in control of their purchasing decisions.
“We are on a mission to power our customers at every touchpoint with AI to deliver a seamless shopping experience that’s faster, easier and more enjoyable,” says Jill Pavlovich, SVP of Digital Customer Experience at Albertsons Cos. “Research tells us that consumers are increasingly interested in using AI to help with grocery shopping. By enabling our plugin in ChatGPT, we are making grocery shopping as simple as having a conversation by meeting our customers when and how they choose to shop. This is another practical way we are using AI to reduce friction and make everyday shopping easier.”
Using ChatGPT, shoppers can activate the Safeway plugin and ask for what they need in natural language, whether they are looking to reorder their favourites, find new products, discover items on sale or shop from a recipe, photo or digital list. People remain in control of their cart and purchasing decisions and can review or modify items before completing checkout. They will be redirected to the Safeway platform to checkout.
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
AI will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
