How AI is changing work
Retail & e-commerce
Finding things better, throwing less away.
Shops and web stores mainly use AI for marketing and sales: product copy, product images, search and advice. Behind the scenes, AI predicts how much stock is needed and when a product should be marked down. Customers are still cautious about chatbots, so trust and honest information carry a lot of weight.
What changes
- Product copy and descriptions start as a first draft by AI, at scale.
- Product images and fashion photos are partly generated, with agreements with models.
- Search is shifting from keywords and filters to a conversation with an assistant.
- Stock, waste and markdowns are predicted per shop and per hour.
Where people make the difference
- Deciding what a brand promises and how it sounds.
- Checking that product information is correct; good product data is becoming more important.
- Complaints, exceptions and customers who want to talk to a person.
How AI is already used
An assistant next to the search bar
In September 2026, Bol introduced Shophulp, an AI assistant in its app and website that helps people find and compare products. The tool is still in beta.
AdformatieFashion images with consent
Since March 2026, Bol has published fashion campaigns with AI-generated models, based on real photo shoots. Models give consent in advance for the period, production and channels.
bolLess bread waste
Albert Heijn uses its own AI to predict how much bread each shop needs and automatically marks down leftover bread during the day. According to AH, this prevented 815,000 kilos of waste in the second half of 2025.
Levensmiddelenkrant, 2026Recipes and rosters
The AI assistant Steijn in the AH app suggests recipes and shopping lists; staff get an internal app that answers customer questions and helps with rosters.
Albert Heijn, 2025Product copy for 300,000 items
Web store Azerty tested product descriptions generated with ChatGPT to make products easier to find, because suppliers often only provide technical specifications.
Thuiswinkel.org, 2025
Where the sector is heading
Marketing or sales is the most frequently mentioned purpose of AI at companies (35 percent of AI users in 2025). In retail and wholesale, almost half of AI users use it for this.
CBS, 2025Consumers are sceptical: the majority feel negative about generative AI and half do not trust AI chatbots.
Thuiswinkel.org, 2024With AI assistants that search by product attributes, complete and correct product data becomes more important for being found.
Adformatie, 2026
What a maker can do for you here
- “Write product copy for our whole range in our own tone of voice, with a review step.”
- “Make product images and lifestyle photos with AI based on our own photography.”
- “Build a product adviser that answers questions from our own product data.”
- “Make a forecast of our stock so we have less left over.”
Researched on 5 October 2026. Know a good example from the Netherlands? Let us know.