By Anuj Dhanda, Chief Technology & Transformation Officer
As part of Albertsons
Companies’ accelerated strategy to earn customers for life, we have comprehensive and ambitious plans to deploy AI
capabilities that:
- Enable frictionless and joyful customer experiences (like our
Ask AI feature)
- Make decisions better in our day-to-day work (e.g. by converting data into insights into recommendations),
- Enable more productive processes within our teams, and
- Make every associate more successful in their role.
A foundational plank for this is the launch of a robust AI skilling initiative — one that will empower our associates
using AI tools to thrive in an increasingly AI-enabled workplace.
As a frontier firm retail partner in the Microsoft Enterprise Skilling Initiative, we are planning to
deliver AI-specific training, skills development and certifications that leverage our broad
Microsoft technology platform. This initiative includes:
- Copilot immersion experiences and prompt coaching for all licensed users at our company in roles
across corporate, retail, supply chain and manufacturing teams.
- Unlimited certifications across Microsoft 365, Dynamics, PowerApps and other Microsoft tools.
- GitHub Copilot training for our developers, most of whom today use AI to develop our software
code faster and more effectively with an acceptance rate at best-in-class levels.
Unlocking Our Potential
This partnership is not just about training—it’s about unlocking potential at scale. It aligns directly with our
technology vision for our Customers for Life strategy, where AI and data science are foundational to how we build,
operate and deliver for our customers and communities.
Our people are essential to what we do as a retailer across America, and I'm excited for our teams to now work
closely with strategic workforce transformation planning experts at Microsoft to launch these resources for our
people in 2026. We want associates to explore using AI tools like Copilot, understand what’s possible with AI, and
how AI can enable them to be more successful in their roles.
The potential of AI is significant, and we recognize that each associate’s journey in using AI will be different
depending on their role at work, their experience using AI-enabled features in our forU™ app as shoppers, how
they're using AI tools in their personal lives, and more. We’re committed to continue helping our teams build
confidence and capability at a pace that works for them.
Building Always-on Solutions with AI
As we modernize our capabilities across our teams, we’re strengthening our product-led organization that
integrates engineering, data and AI to deliver “always on” solutions for our customers and associates.
Our aspiration is clear: to build a factory of AI agents and intelligent
data models that enhance productivity, performance and engagement across every function — from
merchandising and supply chain, to customer experience and store operations. We are partnering with
leading technology firms like Microsoft and others for domain-specific solutions we're building for
our company's continued growth.
We remain committed to responsible innovation. Embracing AI means leading with transparency and explainability,
accountability, reliability and safety, privacy and security. This latest development in our partnership with
Microsoft reflects that commitment — ensuring our teams are equipped not only with the tools, but also the
guardrails to use AI responsibly and effectively.
We’re proud to be investing in our workforce’s skills
development as part of this pioneering initiative with Microsoft. Our commitment to innovation, excellence and
raising the bar continues to drive us forward.