Loblaw and OpenAI partner to integrate PC Express into ChatGPT

Loblaw Cos. Ltd. says it is integrating its PC Express grocery delivery app into OpenAI's chatbot ChatGPT.

The grocer says the partnership means consumers can explore menu ideas and curate a list of ingredients in the chatbot, and select suggested products to purchase on the PC Express app.

Loblaw chief digital officer Lauren Steinberg says AI has become a new avenue for how people plan, search for information and make decisions, and that this is how Loblaw is meeting its customers where they are.

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She says if consumers choose to share their postal code on ChatGPT, the app can find nearby Loblaw banners, which pulls the list of ingredients from a store near them.

Steinberg says consumers can then select items to add to their cart on the chatbot and click checkout, which will take them to the PC Express app for the final step, which is paying for the items.  

The company started working on the app integration last fall, soon after ChatGPT parent company OpenAI announced it was introducing third-party apps on the chatbot.

"The moment we found out that ChatGPT was going to allow apps, we built ours," Steinberg said.

Companies such as Spotify, Canva, Expedia and Coursera are already integrated on the chatbot, OpenAI's website shows.