Yahoo Finance·2026-01-16 10:53Group 1 - The National Retail Federation's 2026 Big Show highlighted the significant role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the retail sector, particularly for grocers [2][3] - AI is increasingly being utilized by consumers for tasks such as finding recipes, generating shopping lists, and comparing prices, shifting its application from back-end supply chain operations to front-end consumer interactions [4][3] - Grocers face unique challenges in adopting AI due to the localized nature of grocery shopping, which complicates inventory management and product availability compared to other retail sectors [6][5] Group 2 - Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced updates related to AI at the conference, including the development of the Gemini tech model aimed at enhancing customer experience for grocers [8] - The Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience is designed to integrate shopping and customer service operations, providing businesses with tools to create and deploy autonomous AI agents [9]