Generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) is no longer an experimental technology; it is becoming a strategic differentiator for retailers seeking efficiency, resilience, and growth. Across Europe, retailers face the dual challenge of rising operational costs and heightened customer expectations for seamless, personalized experiences. AI promises to address both simultaneously.
Spain has become a focal point in this transformation. In April 2025, Carrefour selected Spain as the launch market for its first global AI-powered intelligence platform, AI.Carrefour, supported by Gemini 2.0. The company is also training thousands of employees in AI adoption, embedding it into daily workflows.
This initiative illustrates two critical insights for retail leaders:
1. Efficiency and Productivity Gains
Retail margins are under constant pressure, and labor-intensive store operations remain a significant cost driver. Generative AI has the potential to automate 40–60% of human tasks, according to expert estimates.
- Operational Streamlining: Automating repetitive tasks (such as shift scheduling, predictive maintenance, or routine customer inquiries) frees employees to focus on higher-value interactions.
- Decision Support: Generative AI copilots augment human expertise by analyzing performance reports, detecting compliance issues, and flagging waste-reduction opportunities in real time.
- Management Elevation: Store managers shift from task execution to validation and strategic decision-making, supported by AI-generated insights.
Carrefour’s experiment signals a broader reality: AI is becoming an operational backbone, not just an optional tool.
2. New Growth Opportunities
Efficiency alone is not enough; retailers must also unlock new sources of growth. Carrefour’s Uno.ai “super-agent” provides a glimpse of how generative AI can reshape the customer journey:
- Hyper-personalization: Using data at scale, AI generates highly targeted promotions and product recommendations.
- Customer Empowerment: AI copilots assist associates in responding to nuanced customer questions, enhancing trust and satisfaction.
- Strategic Innovation: Time saved from automation can be reinvested in merchandising, marketing, and service design.
The value proposition is clear: generative AI is not merely a cost-saving mechanism, but a catalyst for revenue growth and competitive advantage.
Implications for Digital Retail
While Carrefour’s case focuses on in-store operations, the same principles apply to digital channels. For retailers, the digital catalog is evolving from a static artifact to a dynamic customer engagement platform. Here, solutions such as Publitas illustrate how AI can be embedded to:
- Automate accessible content creation through AI-generated alt text and transcription.
- Personalize the shopping journey with adaptive catalogs tailored to customer preferences.
- Reduce the burden of manual processes, enabling marketing teams to focus on strategic initiatives.
For leaders, the lesson is straightforward: AI must be integrated across both physical and digital touchpoints to deliver a seamless omnichannel experience.
Preparing for the Future
Carrefour’s decision to roll out AI at scale in Spain underscores a broader truth: the retail sector is entering a new phase of digital transformation. A recent McKinsey study projects €230 billion in investment will be required across Europe by 2030 to modernize IT systems, automate operations, and build omnichannel capabilities.
Retail leaders should view Carrefour’s experiment as a blueprint. Generative AI can create a virtuous cycle of efficiency and growth, but capturing its value requires:
- Upskilling the workforce to adopt AI as a daily tool.
- Prioritizing high-impact use cases that deliver immediate ROI.
- Building scalability by embedding AI into both store operations and digital customer journeys.
The Bottom Line
Carrefour’s AI rollout in Spain is not simply a technology deployment; it represents a strategic shift in how retailers will compete in the coming decade. Efficiency gains, new growth levers, and enhanced customer experience will increasingly depend on how effectively retailers operationalize generative AI.
For digital retail, platforms like Publitas demonstrate how AI-driven catalogs can extend this transformation online, creating accessible, personalized, and revenue-generating experiences.
The future of retail in Spain (and across Europe)will belong to those who can balance cost efficiency with customer-centric innovation, using AI as the connective tissue.
Further reading: AI Search and the New Rules of SEO: 6 Burning Questions Answered
