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The assistant follows Kohl's Mother's Day tool, which it also worked on with Google to bring AI into its customer experience.

Kohl’s unveiled its latest artificial intelligence (AI) tool, urging back-to-school shoppers to give the technology a try for school supplies recommendations and other use cases.

The Kohl’s AI assistant, which was built using Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience, according to the retailer, follows the retailer’s Mother’s Day Gift Finder as the company looks for new ways to integrate AI into its customer experience.

Kohl’s Corp. is No. 25 in the Top 1000 Database. The market research tool tracks North America’s largest online retailers, ranking them by annual ecommerce sales and more.

Kohl’s is also No. 473 in Digital Commerce 360’s all-new AI Rankings. That set of rankings is available in the Top 1000 Pro with AI Database.

How Kohl’s wants its AI assistant to be used

Kohl’s listed specific use cases for its shopper-facing AI assistant in its July 29 announcement. Those include:

  • Personalized recommendations for gifts or special occasions.
  • Deals and savings options.
  • Image-based searches for similar styles and products.
  • Product comparisons and other information.

Kohl’s CEO Michael Bender praised the results the retailer saw from the Mother’s Day Gift Finder it launched on its website with Google Gemini in the spring. During the retailer’s May 28 earnings call, he said that his team was “excited about the work we’re doing to modernize and enhance our experience,” suggesting more projects might be forthcoming.

“We’re encouraged by the initial results and about the potential for these AI-enabled experiences,” Bender stated. “These enhanced shopping experiences will help improve product discovery and customer engagement, with further opportunity to support conversion and reduce friction across the shopping journey over time.”

AI assistance for back-to-school shopping

Kohl’s noted that its customers were already using the AI assistant for back-to-school shopping through the Ask Kohl’s option on its ecommerce website. The company emphasized that it is searching for “practical ways” to use the technology with the goal of making its shopping experiences “simpler, more personal and more helpful.”

In addition to helping customers to apply promotions and discounts, Kohl’s also highlighted the assistant’s ability to guide shoppers through omnichannel and fulfillment features, such as buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) and in-store stock status.

Moreover, the assistant can provide updates on orders, with capabilities such as tracking, self-service tools and forwarding to customer service when additional help is requested.

July survey results from the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights and Analytics found that 62% of shoppers had already begun making purchases in the first weeks of that month. However, that share was down from 67% a year earlier.

In addition, the survey found that just half (50%) of K-12 shoppers planned to purchase back-to-school items online, down from 55% in 2025. Among college shoppers, that rate was also down year over year to 41%, the lowest it had been since 2016, when it was 38%.

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