Woolworths is taking the next step in its food retail journey with the introduction of My Woolies Chef, an AI-powered food assistant designed to make meal planning, recipe discovery and grocery shopping easier for customers.
The new tool, which will be integrated into the Woolworths app, represents a strategic move by the retailer to deepen customer engagement by combining its trusted food expertise, loyalty ecosystem, and digital commerce capabilities into a single connected experience.
Available initially to a select group of MyDifference loyalty programme members from September 2026 as part of a beta testing phase, the feature is expected to roll out more broadly in early 2027.
From inspiration to checkout
For retailers, one of the biggest challenges in online grocery shopping is bridging the gap between inspiration and purchase. Customers may know they need dinner ideas but often spend time searching for recipes, creating shopping lists and identifying the ingredients required.
My Woolies Chef aims to remove much of that friction.
The AI-powered assistant helps customers discover meals based on their preferences, dietary requirements, available ingredients or specific occasions.
Once a recipe is selected, the required ingredients can be linked directly to a Woolies Dash shopping basket, allowing customers to move seamlessly from meal inspiration to checkout.
The feature forms part of Woolworths' broader strategy to create a more connected digital shopping experience while strengthening customer loyalty through convenience and personalisation.
Building on trusted food authority
Unlike generic AI platforms, Woolworths has built My Woolies Chef around one of its strongest retail assets: food expertise.
The assistant draws on more than 20 years of Woolworths Taste recipes, combining trusted culinary content with product information and shopping functionality tailored specifically to South African consumers.
Customers can ask the assistant for suggestions using everyday language, whether they are looking for a quick weekday meal, lunchbox ideas, vegetarian recipes, family dinners or entertaining options.
By connecting recipe inspiration directly to available products and delivery services, Woolworths is positioning itself to play a larger role in the entire meal-planning journey rather than simply supplying ingredients.
AI meets everyday grocery shopping
Behind the scenes, My Woolies Chef uses conversational and generative AI to understand customer requests and recommend suitable recipes from Woolworths' extensive content library.
Rather than relying on traditional keyword searches, the system interprets context and intent, allowing customers to interact naturally with the platform.
A customer could, for example, ask for a meal using ingredients already in their fridge, request a budget-friendly family dinner, or look for something simple to prepare for guests.
Recommendations are generated using locally relevant content and take into account seasonal ingredients, household needs and practical cooking considerations.
Jose Rodrigues, group data and AI officer at Woolworths, says the focus is on creating technology that feels intuitive and genuinely useful.
"Conversational AI allows customers to engage with Woolworths' food content and digital shopping experience in a more intuitive way. Instead of navigating multiple searches, they can describe what they need in everyday language and receive suggestions that are relevant to the context of their request."
A new phase of retail personalisation
The launch comes as retailers globally explore how AI can improve customer experiences, increase engagement and simplify purchasing decisions.
While AI has often been associated with operational efficiencies and back-end processes, retailers are increasingly using the technology to create more personalised and interactive customer journeys.
For Woolworths, My Woolies Chef represents a practical application of AI that aligns directly with customer behaviour.
The retailer plans to use the beta phase to gather customer feedback, improve recommendation quality and refine the overall experience before a wider launch.
Future developments could include more personalised meal planning, proactive food recommendations, smarter shopping lists and budget-conscious suggestions tailored to individual customer preferences.
Strengthening Woolworths' digital ecosystem
The introduction of My Woolies Chef is another step in Woolworths' ongoing investment in digital retail and customer experience innovation.
By connecting recipe inspiration, loyalty rewards, product discovery, and on-demand grocery delivery through Woolies Dash, the retailer is creating a more integrated ecosystem designed to keep customers engaged throughout the shopping journey.
As competition intensifies in South Africa's online grocery market, retailers are increasingly looking for ways to differentiate beyond delivery speed and pricing. Personalisation, convenience, and intelligent digital experiences are becoming key battlegrounds.
Rodrigues believes the technology's value lies in its ability to solve real-world problems.
"Our goal is to make technology truly useful by solving real customer problems. My Woolies Chef is a practical example of how AI can support customers in everyday moments while enhancing the way they plan, shop, and cook."
With consumers increasingly seeking convenience and inspiration in equal measure, Woolworths is betting that the future of grocery retail may begin with a simple question: What's for dinner, tonight?
