Retail AI Council Introduces Industry-Specific AI Assistant, Ask.RetailAICouncil

In its pilot phase, the AI tool is grounded in practitioner knowledge – not vendor marketing – and delivers clear, actionable guidance retailers can use to make confident and informed decisions

The Retail AI Council, a retailer-built, retailer-led organization dedicated to helping retailers embrace the transformative potential of AI, continues to build momentum in the industry through the introduction of a unique and unbiased AI assistant, as well as monthly virtual roundtables for member collaboration. Furthermore, the Council’s presence at dozens of industry events underscores its commitment to ensuring retailers have a collective voice in shaping how commerce connects to large language models (LLMs) and AI-based retail solutions.

Explore the Council’s AI assistant built for retail-operations guidance

In 2025, Retail AI Council members came together to create an industry-specific AI assistant and research companion called Ask.RetailAICouncil, designed to deliver more relevant and accurate answers for retail industry practitioners than what was available through existing AI tools.

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“Generic AI models are broad, but retailers need precision,” said Andy Laudato, Co-Founder & Chair, Retail AI Council, and COO, The Vitamin Shoppe. “We built the tool initially for ourselves so we could better understand what’s real and what’s hype. Then we realized it could deliver real value to the entire retail industry, and we’re excited to see other retailers jump in and help us expand the tool.”

Built on leading LLMs and enhanced with retail-industry context, Ask.RetailAICouncil can support use cases such as:

• Conducting early-stage research on vendors and market trends
• Comparing retail software solutions based on specific use cases, goals, and desired outcomes
• Drafting RFP outlines
• Equipping retailers for internal conversations with key stakeholders

“Early feedback has reinforced our hypothesis: retailers want specificity,” said Lauren Porten Lavey, Ecommerce Advisory Board Member, Retail AI Council, and Senior Digital Director, Eataly North America. “Retailers are not looking for generic AI overviews; they want to know what’s working for retailers like them, at their scale and in their functional area. This approach is shaping how we’re prioritizing content and capabilities going forward.”

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“Our goal is to help retailers move from identifying a business problem to understanding which AI approaches are most relevant and proven,” said Porten Lavey. “Before Ask.RetailAICouncil, we didn’t have an unbiased forum to understand what solutions work in real-world retail environments. Our AI assistant is specifically designed to guide better decision-making, not replace internal expertise or leadership judgment, and it is supporting retailers as a source of clarity in a rapidly evolving tech ecosystem.”

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