Instacart has launched a new AI-powered search tool, Ask Instacart, designed to provide meal inspiration to its users. Drawing on OpenAI’s ChatGPT language-processing capabilities, combined with Instacart’s own AI systems, the tool offers information on product recommendations, food preparation, dietary requirements, and product details across over 80,000 retail partner locations. Additionally, the search will use personalized question prompts to anticipate customer preferences, while brand partners can offer sponsored product campaigns to shoppers for new discoveries. The feature is embedded into the Instacart app’s search bar and is set to be available from May 31. The firm is also trialling a shopper-favouriting service based on user feedback.
Instacart is a San Francisco-based delivery giant that provides grocery delivery services for retailers operating in the US and Canada. It was founded in 2012 by Apoorva Mehta, who had previously worked as a supply chain engineer at Amazon. Since its launch, Instacart has expanded its remit to include delivery services for non-grocery stores, such as pet supply shops and pharmacies, and has also partnered with advertisers to help brands to promote their products.
JJ Zhuang is the chief architect at Instacart and was heavily involved in the creation of its new Ask Instacart search tool. Zhuang has previously said that he believes that AI’s ability to learn and adapt makes it a highly useful tool in improving the customer’s shopping experience. He has pointed out that the data and insights that can be gleaned using AI-powered services such as Instacart are invaluable to advertisers, who can use them to better understand their customer and to tailor their campaigns accordingly.
