AI

Retail AI Council debuts AI assistant

Photo: Adobe Stock

April 16, 2026

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The Retail AI Council has debuted an AI assistant providing actionable guidance for retailers based in practitioner knowledge and not vendor marketing.

The council is a retailer-led organization dedicated to helping retailers embrace the transformative potential of AI. The AI tool is called Ask.RetailAICouncil.

"Generic AI models are broad, but retailers need precision," Andy Laudato, co-founder and chair, Retail AI Council, and COO at The Vitamin Shoppe, said in a release. "We built the tool initially for ourselves so we could better understand what's real and what's hype. Then we realized it could deliver real value to the entire retail industry, and we're excited to see other retailers jump in and help us expand the tool."

Ask.RetailAICouncil can support use cases such as:

Conducting early-stage research on vendors and market trends.
Comparing retail software solutions based on specific use cases, goals, and desired outcomes
Drafting RFP outlines
Equipping retailers for internal conversations with key stakeholders

To encourage collaboration and shared learnings among members, the Retail AI Council is hosting "Council Collab" webinars, available on the third Tuesday of each month. These virtual roundtables allow industry leaders to share real-life experiences with their peers, pressure-test ideas, and explore practical ways to adopt and leverage AI. Future monthly webinars will be announced on the Council's events page.