By Uri Gal of
Photo: 123RF
Analysis: 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 - plan meals, interpret handwritten recipes, apply loyalty discounts and place suggested items directly into a customer's online shopping basket.
Woolworths said Olive would not complete purchases automatically, and customers would 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.
From helper to decision maker
The most significant change for shoppers is how decisions will be
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