How Albertsons Companies is reimagining retail from the inside out

Albertsons Cos. is using ChatGPT Enterprise and the OpenAI API to help teams work faster and make grocery shopping easier for millions of customers.

Retail runs on small decisions made at enormous scale: which products to promote, how to help an associate, what a developer should build next—and, closer to home, what’s for dinner. Grocery shopping is one of the most ordinary ways we take care of ourselves and the people around us. At Albertsons Cos., these decisions play out across more than 2,200 stores, including Albertsons®, Safeway®, Vons®, Jewel-Osco®, Shaw’s®, ACME® and Tom Thumb®, serving over 36 million customers each week.

OpenAI is working with Albertsons Cos. as the retailer continues to bring AI into everyday workflows, including ChatGPT Enterprise, as well as custom AI-powered experiences for its customers, data-driven recommendations and promotional insights built with the OpenAI API. The new Safeway experience in ChatGPT⁠(opens in a new window) brings that innovation to millions of shoppers, helping them move from a dinner idea to checkout all in ChatGPT.

Saving teams time and accelerating retail innovation

Digital shopping, store operations, fulfillment, merchandising and customer experience all depend on systems that teams continually build, test and improve. Albertsons Cos. is expanding its use of AI across the organization to help teams navigate complexity, accelerate workflows and move promising ideas toward production faster. The work connects the technology behind a shopping trip to practical decisions: which products to promote, how to explain a recommendation and how to help customers find ingredients for dinner.

That rollout is part of a broader investment in how work gets done. Through ChatGPT Enterprise and other AI-powered tools, select teams are exploring new ways to streamline work, improve decision-making and identify practices that can scale across the organization.

ChatGPT Enterprise and OpenAI-powered applications are being used by teams building retail technology and by business functions where AI can drive meaningful impact. By developing capabilities in focused areas first, Albertsons Cos. can evaluate what works, build repeatable practices and create a strong foundation for broader innovation over time.

Shoppers are more open to using AI for groceries than for other types of purchases, according to dunnhumby’s February 2026 United States Consumer Trends Tracker⁠(opens in a new window).

The new Safeway experience in ChatGPT is an example of how AI can make grocery shopping easier. Shoppers can start with a recipe, photo, digital list or simple request: “Plan pizza night for four,” “Put together a quick dinner from the deli,” or “Restock breakfast foods and snacks using store brands.” ChatGPT surfaces relevant products and savings, helps build a cart and directs customers to Safeway to check out.

“This is another practical way we are using AI to reduce friction and make everyday shopping easier,” said Jill Pavlovich, SVP, Digital Customer Experience at Albertsons Companies.

The new Safeway experience in ChatGPT expands on Albertsons’ AI shopping assistant and Ask AI capabilities and is planned to grow beyond Safeway to other grocery brands, including Albertsons, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, ACME and Tom Thumb.

A 360-degree partnership built to scale across retail

Albertsons Cos. is expanding its partnership with OpenAI to help teams work more efficiently and make grocery shopping easier for customers. Through the OpenAI API, Albertsons Cos. continues to explore how AI can create value on both sides of retail. For customers, that means more personalized assistance with building baskets, repurchasing familiar items and planning recipes and meals tailored to preferences and information provided by the customer.

Behind the scenes, Albertsons Cos. is combining predictive models with generative AI to deliver explainable, data-driven recommendations and promotional insights, helping merchants evaluate business considerations and make more informed decisions. That progress is supported by a broader set of OpenAI-powered capabilities, from employee tools to commerce apps and advertising solutions that can be extended across the enterprise.

Across more than 2,200 stores serving over 36 million customers each week, those improvements connect: teams build faster, decisions get better and putting food on the table becomes a little easier.