Kroger supermarket chain launched an AI shopping assistant with built-in advertising from day one — while competitors added monetization months or even years after launch. The tool is now available on the websites and apps of most Kroger banners, excluding Harris Teeter, and runs on the Cooklist platform. Customers can plan menus, search for recipes, and build shopping carts based on budget or dietary preferences, while brands can place sponsored product cards directly in the assistant's recommendations.
Kroger's approach contrasts sharply with other retailers' strategies. Walmart added ads to its Sparky chatbot a year after launch, announcing the feature in January of this year following tests that started in autumn. OpenAI began experimenting with ads in ChatGPT only in May — several years after the service went live. Kroger embedded commercial logic into the user experience from the start, making monetization part of the product's core architecture.
How advertising works inside the AI assistant
Ads appear at the moment a shopping list is being created — for example, when a user asks for snack recommendations for back-to-school season. Sponsored cards are labeled as promotional content and displayed alongside organic results. Brian Spencer, Director of Marketing at Kroger Precision Marketing, explains the approach as an evolution of consumer habits: shoppers are already accustomed to seeing product ads on e-commerce platforms and expect them to be relevant to their search.
For brands, integration requires no additional setup. If a product ads campaign is already running through Kroger Precision Marketing, products can automatically appear in the AI assistant's recommendations. Ads only show when user queries involve building a shopping list — if someone asks a general question without purchase intent, no ads appear.
We operate at the technological layer closest to the customer, which gives us an advantage in monetizing customer relationships — Greg Foran, CEO of Kroger
Why Kroger can afford advertising from day one
The chain's key competitive advantage lies in the depth of its customer behavior data. 95% of transactions are tied to the loyalty program, allowing real purchase tracking rather than just intent signals. For advertisers, this means the ability to measure campaign impact on sales directly, without relying on indirect engagement metrics.
Retail media has become Kroger's fastest-growing business segment. In the first quarter, Kroger Precision Marketing's profit grew more than 20% year-over-year while online sales increased 19%. New CEO Greg Foran emphasized in his investor report that the chain controls the technological infrastructure at the final mile before purchase — the moment when direct customer relationships become the primary currency in advertising.
Measuring campaign effectiveness in the AI assistant
Brands gain access to separate analytics for impressions within the assistant. Metrics include recommendation frequency, card clicks, and conversion to purchase. Since the system operates within Kroger Precision Marketing's existing infrastructure, data is integrated into the overall campaign report without requiring third-party analytics tools.
Technically, ad impressions in the AI assistant function as an additional placement for product ads. Brands pay for the existing campaign, and the algorithm itself determines at which touchpoints — whether on catalog pages or in the assistant chat — to display the card. This lowers the barrier to entry: no need to develop separate creative or negotiate a new format.
What this means for the Russian market
Kroger's experience shows the direction retail media is heading: toward contextual integration of ads into user scenarios. For Russian brands working with marketplaces and retail networks, this signals a need to rethink placement strategy — moving away from static banners toward formats embedded in the product selection process.
In Russia, loyalty programs from major retail chains reach tens of millions of users, but data depth is often limited to offline transactions without integration with online behavior. Brands can leverage partnerships with bloggers and influencer marketing specialists to gather audience intent data before purchase — through story polls, comment discussions, and landing page traffic. These insights will complement retailers' transactional data.
Marketer's checklist: how to prepare for advertising in AI assistants
- Audit product card quality: in an AI dialog context, users see fewer elements than on a catalog shelf — headline, image, and brief description must be maximally informative.
- Configure attributes for filtering: if the assistant helps select products by diet or budget, cards should contain structured data on calories, allergens, and ingredients.
- Test queries typical for your category: ask the AI to recommend products the way a real customer would, and check if you appear in the results.
- Coordinate ad labeling rules with the retailer: Russia has stricter requirements for sponsored content marking than the US — ensure placement complies with advertising law.
- Request metric breakdowns by channel from the platform: if your campaign shows in both catalog and assistant, it's important to understand which channel delivers better conversion.
Risks of early AI tool monetization
Embedding ads from day one carries reputational risks. Users perceive AI assistants as neutral tools that help solve problems, not advertising channels. If the balance between organic and sponsored recommendations is disrupted, trust in the service declines — and usage frequency drops with it.
Kroger minimizes risk through contextuality: ads only appear when users build shopping lists and are clearly labeled. But long-term success will depend on how accurately the algorithm distinguishes between commercial and informational queries. If someone asks for nutrition advice but receives a carousel of high-margin products, they'll stop using the assistant.
Frequently asked questions
How can a brand get into Kroger's AI assistant recommendations?
Simply launch a product ads campaign through Kroger Precision Marketing. No additional settings or separate budget for assistant placement is required — the system automatically shows product cards when user queries are relevant.
How is advertising in an AI assistant different from regular product ads?
The main difference is the context of display. Ads appear within a dialog when users build shopping lists based on a need — for example, assembling a picnic cart or searching for gluten-free products. This makes advertising part of solving the problem rather than a banner on a catalog page.
Can sales from AI assistant impressions be measured separately?
Yes, Kroger provides brands with analytics broken down by placement channel within the Kroger Precision Marketing ecosystem. Metrics include impressions, clicks, and conversion to purchase for recommendations delivered by the assistant.
In brief
- Kroger launched an AI shopping assistant with built-in advertising from day one — ahead of Walmart and OpenAI, which added monetization months or years after launch.
- Brands need no separate setup: if a product ads campaign is already running through Kroger Precision Marketing, products automatically appear in the assistant's recommendations.
- 95% of the chain's transactions are tied to the loyalty program, enabling measurement of advertising impact on actual purchases, not just intent.
- Retail media revenue for Kroger grew more than 20% in Q1 while online sales increased 19%.
- For Russian brands, Kroger's experience signals the need to seek ad integration into user scenarios and supplement retailers' transactional data with insights from influencer marketing.
- The key risk of early monetization is losing user trust if the balance between assistance and selling is disrupted.
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