Wesfarmers to deploy agentic AI groupwide

Wesfarmers is embarking on a groupwide program that will see it use agentic AI to personalise retail experiences and reduce operational complexity.

The ASX-listed company flagged the introduction of agentic AI at its biggest brand operations, including Bunnings, Kmart, Officeworks, Priceline and Blackwoods.

It will tap into agentic AI technology from two ecosystems - Google Cloud and Microsoft - with "multi-year" partnerships announced today.

Wesfarmers managing director Rob Scott said that use of AI is expanding into domains such as "forecasting, design and customer engagement".

Scott said it was important to Wesfarmers to adopt agentic AI technology "responsibly, at scale and with the right partners."

The work with Google Cloud has already produced an active pilot, where customers of OnePass - a paid membership and delivery service - can "search and shop conversationally across multiple retail brands in one place."

Wesfarmers highlighted the "cross-divisional" nature of the pilot project, given multiple retailers are involved.

The company also plans to use Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience to build tools that "help customers find products more easily, receive relevant recommendations and move smoothly from search to post-purchase"; and to build customer support AI assistants that can help "resolve [customer] enquiries more efficiently".

In the backend, Google's agentic AI capabilities will enable staff to "analyse information, automate routine tasks and support decision-making across functions including operations, customer service, engineering, marketing and finance," Wesfarmers said.

Microsoft agentic AI services, meanwhile, will power internal productivity and supply chain operations, along with customer-facing agentic commerce and Copilot digital storefronts.

Wesfarmers' deal with Microsoft will expand the group's use of Azure OpenAI, M365 Copilot, and Copilot Studio across its Bunnings, Kmart Group, Blackwoods, and Priceline retail brands.

Wesfarmers plans to more than double its Microsoft 365 Copilot footprint.

"Our partnership with Microsoft is supporting our increased use of AI across the group and we are already seeing the benefits, particularly at a team member level with the use of Copilot," Scott said.

Both vendor partnerships include custom training programs, with Google Cloud delivering AI upskilling adapted to different roles from store-based teams to support centres.

Through the partnerships with Google and Microsoft, Wesfarmers is pursuing a multi-vendor AI strategy rather than committing exclusively to either hyperscaler's ecosystem.

In November last year, Wesfarmers also said it had entered into a partnership with OpenAI, to make its ChatGPT Enterprise chatbot available across the group, with customised training programs.

Wesfarmers said it is one of Australia's largest private employers, with more than 118,000 staff across its retail divisions, serving millions of customers in Australia and New Zealand.