FairPrice & Google Cloud launch new AI assistants for retail

FairPrice Group has entered a multi-year collaboration with Google Cloud to advance the use of agentic artificial intelligence solutions across its retail operations and for its workforce.

The partnership, under FairPrice Group's (FPG) Store of Tomorrow programme, introduces a suite of agentic AI assistants developed with Google Cloud's Agent Development Kit and open standards such as the Model Context Protocol. These assistants are now available to customers at the newly launched FairPrice Finest at Punggol Digital District, with further roll-out planned.

Smart Cart integration

FPG has added a multimodal shopping assistant to its Smart Carts to improve the in-store experience. These Smart Carts, which already feature in-store navigation, barcode scanning, and promotional highlights, now allow shoppers to interact with an in-cart conversational assistant via an integrated tablet. This assistant leverages multiple AI agents for a personalised experience.

The in-cart system comprises a multi-turn conversational agent using Google Cloud's Chirp 2 speech recognition model and the Gemini API, a product catalogue and inventory search agent based on Vertex AI Search, and a knowledge agent utilising the Gemini API, Vertex AI RAG Engine and the Grounding with Google Search API. Customers can ask about specific dishes or products, such as "yam paste", and receive recommendations for relevant ready-to-eat options, ingredient lists, and suggestions for complementary products available in-store.

These conversational Smart Carts will be deployed at FairPrice Finest Thomson Plaza later in 2025. FPG is also piloting Vertex AI Search for Commerce to enhance relevance and context for searches, including local languages and dialects - such as "orh nee" (yam paste) or "chye poh" (preserved radish).

Expert assistance for health and wine

To meet specialised consumer needs, distinct AI agents work together to support decision-making for health supplements and wine selection. At the Unity pharmacy in FairPrice Finest Punggol Digital District, a wellness assistant provides tailored advice based on users' body composition and health goals. This assistant's workflow uses conversational and search agents, a data agent integrating Tanita body analyser results via API, and a knowledge agent drawing on Google's AI technology to offer up-to-date nutritional advice.

In addition, a digital wine sommelier is available, accessed by tapping a phone against an NFC-enabled electronic shelf label on wine bottles. The assistant helps users compare wines, receive tasting notes, explore pairings, and select bottles by region, type, or occasion.

Workforce empowerment

FPG is integrating Google Agentspace to build, manage, and use AI agents at scale for its employees, alongside continued use of Google Workspace. This enables knowledge and frontline workers to access tools like agentic intranet search and customised digital agents to support research, idea generation, and automation of tasks. Employees have the option to design their own agents using a no-code interface within Agentspace.

Among current internal uses, price and promotion teams employ a custom creative agent to automate thematic advertisement creation. The agent uses Google Cloud's Imagen 4 and Veo 3 models for image editing and video generation, alongside the Gemini API for creating and condensing promotional copy. According to FPG, this has reduced the time and cost needed for ad creation by factors of ten and one hundred, respectively.

Agentspace also enables tighter security and compliance, allowing IT administrators to apply role-based controls and manage identity and access to AI systems in line with FPG policy. Further digital agent deployment is planned in areas such as human resources, customer sentiment analysis, and store operations.

Executive perspectives

"At FairPrice Group, our purpose is simple: to make every day a little better for our customers. Our collaboration with Google Cloud and the launch of our Store of Tomorrow are testament to this commitment. The new AI-powered tools, from the smart shopping assistant to the personalized wellness assistant, are designed to make a shopper's journey more seamless and intuitive. These innovations don't just 'wow' our shoppers, they also empower our employees to work more efficiently, so as to uphold our promise of providing affordable daily essentials for all. We believe technology should work for the good of our customers and we're excited to use it to bring shoppers an even better experience at what we consider to be a first-of-its-kind store in Southeast Asia, with Google Cloud's partnership and technology as a powerful enabler. " said Vipul Chawla, Group Chief Executive Officer of FairPrice Group.

According to Thomas Kurian, Chief Executive Officer of Google Cloud "the company offers a highly differentiated and comprehensive portfolio of infrastructure, open platforms, models, tooling, and agents that are enabling organizations around the world to transform their business with AI. FPG's use of these technologies - extending from the storefront to the back office - is an incredible example of how AI is driving innovation across every customer touchpoint and corner of the enterprise."

"FPG is leading the way in deploying agentic AI in the retail sector." said Mark Micallef, Managing Director, Southeast Asia of Google Cloud. "This move underscores their commitment to enhancing customer value and experiences, while empowering their teams to drive innovation from within. Our mutual efforts have delivered solutions that are among the first-of-their-kind in Southeast Asia, underpinned by the unique combination of Google Cloud's open platforms, Google-quality search, and Google's advanced reasoning and generative media models. We see FPG's AI transformation as the proven blueprint for realizing the future of retail, and we're proud to be its partner as we continue this journey."

The collaboration extends to both customer-facing applications and internal tools, aiming to streamline workflows, enhance customer service, and respond to local consumer preferences through the use of advanced AI and tailored digital solutions.