Instacart unveiled three new features that it said will increase the chances its customers will get the items they order.
In the future, these features will also help Instacart’s partner retailers and brands get real-time information about whether products are on the shelves, the online grocery marketplace said in a Thursday (March 27) blog post.
With one new feature, Store View, Instacart shoppers will be able to earn more by taking videos of store shelves, Instacart’s artificial intelligence and computer vision technology will analyze the videos to determine whether products are in stock, and then Instacart will use those findings to let customers know when an item they’ve ordered is likely to be available, per the post.
Instacart also plans to use outward-facing cameras on its AI-powered smart carts, Caper Carts, to provide updated inventory insights, the post said.
Another new feature, Second Store Check, provides a solution for instances when an item is not available at the store the customer chose. With Second Store Check, Instacart will automatically ask a second shopper to see if the item is available at a store they are already at or near, according to the post.
Store View will launch with select retailers in the coming weeks and then expand to more retailers in the U.S. and Canada later in the year. Second Store Check will roll out in the coming months, the post said.
“With Store View, Second Store Check and Caper Carts, we’re making online grocery more reliable, helping more customers get exactly what they want, and laying a foundation to help retailers and brands get better real-time insights through our technology in the future,” Instacart Chief Product Officer Daniel Danker wrote in the post.
Instacart has been adapting its online grocery shopping platform to meet consumers’ expectations of convenience, selection, price and speed, Instacart CEO Fidji Simo wrote in a shareholder letter released in February.
On March 19, the company added new AI-powered tools that deliver more personalized grocery shopping recommendations based on the customer’s habits, health goals and dietary preferences.
These tools include Smart Shop technology that surfaces products more relevant to the customer, Health Tags that provide detailed nutritional information, and Inspiration Pages that provide health recommendations and shoppable recipes.
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