Target names first chief AI officer as retailers race to adopt AI

Target announced on Tuesday the appointment of Chandhu Nair as its first chief artificial intelligence officer and senior vice president, along with Purvi Shah as senior vice president of user experience. Nair brings retail technology experience from his tenure at Lowe's, where he served as senior vice president of stores, data, AI and innovation; he has also worked at Staples and Gap. In a statement, Nair outlined his vision: "The most meaningful AI stories won't be about what happens in a lab. They'll be about what happens on the front line – how we make shopping easier for a guest, give a team member a better tool, make a business decision with more confidence or bring a new idea to market faster." He plans to drive a "more coordinated approach" to AI at Target, focusing on areas like inventory management and faster decision-making.

The appointment underscores Target's existing investment in generative AI. The retailer has deployed Target Trend Brain, a tool that identifies upcoming customer search trends by analyzing styles, colors, and materials, and launched a conversational AI program during the last holiday season to help customers find gifts. These initiatives are part of Target's broader effort to win back shoppers and investors in a competitive market.

Target's move comes amid an industry-wide race to capitalize on AI. Walmart has been rolling out AI tools and agents across stores and supply chains to enhance customer experience and streamline employee processes. Gap partnered with Google's Gemini earlier this year, and Best Buy has collaborations with both OpenAI and Google. The urgency is reflected in leadership decisions: former Walmart CEO Douglas McMillon told CNBC in December that he decided to step down to hand the "global retailer to someone 'faster' who could tap into the ways AI could accelerate the business." John Furner assumed the role in February. McMillon elaborated: "About a year ago, I really started feeling like this next run, you could see what agentic commerce was going to look like, the vision for AI shopping, and I started thinking about everything that needs to happen over the next few years, and it really caused me to think that now was the right time [to step down]." His comments suggest that retail executives view the next few years as critical for establishing AI-driven capabilities that will define competitive positioning.