Target Appoints Its First Chief AI Officer

By Kristina Stidham

Target on Tuesday announced it has appointed its first ever chief artificial intelligence officer in its latest bet to capitalize on the AI boom, reports CNBC. The company named Chandhu Nair as its chief AI officer and senior vice president and also announced Purvi Shah as the company’s senior vice president of user experience.

Nair previously worked at home improvement retailer Lowe’s as the company’s senior vice president of stores, data, AI and innovation. He has also held roles at Staples and Gap. In a statement, Nair said he’s focused on a “more coordinated approach” to AI for Target, including improving how the retailer manages inventory or enabling faster decisions.

Total Retail's Take: The creation of a Chief AI Officer role at Target is evidence that AI competition in retail is moving from experimentation to organizational redesign. The retailer has already been testing and investing in generative AI, including a tool called Target Trend Brain, which helps the retailer get ahead of trends and identify the styles, colors and materials that customers will be searching for. And last holiday season, Target launched a new conversational AI program to help customers find the right gift for the people on their shopping lists.

“The most meaningful AI stories won’t be about what happens in a lab,” Nair said in a statement. “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.”

Target says its advancing AI and UX together, rather than as separate disciplines, to activate new technology in useful ways. "Intelligence may make a system more capable, but human-centered design helps make that capability understandable, useful and trustworthy," says Shah.

Target's announcement comes as many major retailers have been racing to keep up with the AI boom and integrate it into their business strategies. Target’s rival Walmart has been rolling out AI tools and agents across its stores and supply chains to enhance the customer experience and make its internal employee processes more efficient. Gap announced a partnership with Google’s Gemini earlier this year, and Best Buy has collaborations in place with OpenAI and Google.

Companies:
Target

Kristina Stidham Author's page

Kristina Stidham is the digital content director at Total Retail and sister brands Women in Retail Leadership Circle and Women Leading Travel & Hospitality at NAPCO Media. She is passionate about digital media and handles video, podcast and virtual event production for all brands. You can often find her at WIRLC, TR, WLT&H or industry events with her camera and podcasting equipment⁠—or at home on Zoom⁠—recording interviews with thought leaders and business executives.

Kristina holds a B.A. in Media Studies and Production from the Temple University Klein College of Media and Communication in Philadelphia. Go Owls! When she's not in the office, she loves to go on long walks, sing around the house, hangout with her family and two pet guinea pigs, and travel to new places.