The Retail Council Introduces the AI Assistant Ask.RetailAICouncil

The Retail AI Council (Retail AI Council), an organization led by retailers and dedicated to integrating artificial intelligence technologies into the retail sector, has unveiled a new AI assistant specifically designed to meet the needs of industry professionals. This tool, named Ask.RetailAICouncil, aims to provide precise and tailored recommendations, moving away from the generic responses often offered by other AI tools.

An Assistant Designed by and for Retailers

Initially launched in 2025 as part of a pilot project, Ask.RetailAICouncil was developed using advanced language models (LLMs) and enriched with context specific to the retail domain. According to Andy Laudato, co-founder and president of the Retail AI Council and COO of The Vitamin Shoppe, the goal was to create a tool capable of distinguishing between reality and marketing. "Generic AI models are vast, but retailers need precision," he stated. "We originally built the tool for ourselves, but quickly realized it could provide real value to the entire industry. We are excited to see other retailers join in and contribute to the expansion of this tool."

Key features of the assistant include:

• Preliminary research on suppliers and market trends.
• Comparison of software solutions for retail, based on specific use cases.
• Drafting of requests for proposals (RFPs).
• Preparing retailers for strategic discussions with their internal stakeholders.

Lauren Porten Lavey, a member of the e-commerce advisory board of the Retail AI Council and senior digital director at Eataly North America, emphasized the importance of the tool's targeted approach: "Retailers are not looking for general insights on AI; they want to know what works for retailers like them, at their scale and in their functional area. This approach shapes our content and capability priorities for the future."

A Continuously Evolving Platform

The Ask.RetailAICouncil assistant is designed to help retailers solve business problems and identify the most relevant and proven AI approaches. "Before Ask.RetailAICouncil, we did not have an impartial forum to understand which solutions work in real retail environments," explained Lauren Porten Lavey. "Our AI assistant is specifically designed to guide better decision-making without replacing the expertise or judgment of leaders, and it becomes a source of clarity in a rapidly evolving technological ecosystem."

During the pilot phase, the tool has been continuously updated based on feedback from Council members to remain relevant and practical.

Encouraging Industry Collaboration

In addition to developing the AI assistant, the Retail AI Council hosts monthly webinars called "Council Collab" to encourage collaboration among its members. These virtual roundtables, held every third Tuesday of the month, allow industry leaders to share their experiences, test ideas, and explore practical solutions for integrating artificial intelligence into their operations.

Increased Presence at Industry Events

This week, hundreds of members of the Retail AI Council are participating in the eTail Palm Springs event, where they are speaking on two discussion panels, and three Council members are delivering keynote speeches. Beyond this event, the Council plans to be present at dozens of other events across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Australia.

The Retail AI Council continues to strengthen its mission: to help retailers navigate the transformation of their business through artificial intelligence by providing tools and platforms tailored to their needs. As Andy Laudato summarized, this project is set to become an essential resource in the technological landscape of retail.

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