Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) shares are edging higher today.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) supermarket giant closed yesterday trading for $30.31. In afternoon trade on Tuesday, shares are changing hands for $30.33 apiece, up 0.1%.
That sees Woolworths share up 3.2% so far in these early days of 2026 and up 17.1% since plumbing one-year lows on 14 October.
That's the latest share price action for you.
Now here's how the supermarket aims to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) to improve its customers' shopping experiences and potentially boost its own sales.
Woolworths shares forging closer link with Google
As The Australian Financial Review reports, Woolies has inked a deal with Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL) to use Google's Gemini product in its Olive chatbot.
While the longer-term impact on Woolworths shares remains to be seen, the deal with Google makes Woolies the first Aussie supermarket to enable AI to actually shop for its customers.
The Gemini empowered Olive won't be allowed to automatically make customer purchases, but Google noted the chatbot will be able "add items to their cart and even handle checkout", if the customers wish.
Olive will also be able to assist with planning weekly meals and recipes. The Gemini-powered chatbot is scheduled to go live later in 2026.
Commenting on Woolworths' adoption of Gemini, Google Australia managing director Melanie Silva said (quoted by the AFR):
We're moving into the era of the 'AI agent'. That sounds technical, but it's actually pretty simple. Up until now, AI has been great at giving you information. Agents are all about doing something with it. It's the difference between a tool that just answers a question, and a helper that thinks one step ahead to actually help you get a job done.
Woolworths CEO Amanda Bardwell added:
We are evolving our digital shopping assistant Olive into an intuitive partner that won't just answer questions, but actually anticipates your needs – planning meals based on what you love and spotting the specials that matter. This is a practical innovation that's all about us … making shopping that little bit easier to give you time back in your day.
Commenting on the impact on customer shopping habits, and by connection the potential impact on Woolworths shares, Craig Woolford, an analyst at MST Marquee, said, "It will potentially be saving them time and making the specials more visible, but it really depends on the uptake."
