Loblaw says its ChatGPT grocery app is ahead of plan. It hasn't said what the plan was.

May 2026 — Loblaw Companies is betting that shoppers will plan meals in a chatbot. Here's what it launched, what it cost, and what went wrong.

Cost and outcome (as of May 2026)

Launch: PC Express app in ChatGPT, launched Feb. 12, 2026; ChatGPT Enterprise for Loblaw's corporate colleagues. (Loblaw)
Adoption: "already ahead of plan," CEO Per Bank said May 6; no figure or target given. (StockAnalysis)
Online sales: up 20.3% in the quarter, company-wide; not broken out for ChatGPT. (StockAnalysis)
Cost of the partnership: not disclosed.

How it works

Users enable the PC Express app inside ChatGPT. If they ask for a recipe and then ask PC Express to find the ingredients, it can fill a virtual cart from their nearest store for pickup or delivery, The Globe and Mail reported. Clicking "check out" sends them to the PC Express website or app to pay. ChatGPT doesn't complete the purchase.

The idea came from an OpenAI study of how people use ChatGPT, the Globe reported. Cooking and recipes were just 0.9% of topics in that study, but Chief Digital Officer Lauren Steinberg said that was significant volume given ChatGPT's size. OpenAI says it has more than 800 million weekly users.

"More and more people are looking to applications like ChatGPT to explore recipes and plan meals and make decisions," Steinberg told the Globe. "So, for us, rather than asking Canadians to change their behaviour, our approach is, we'll adapt to it." She also said: "No grocery retailer has built what we have today. We're the first to do it this way." Instacart and DoorDash already had shopping apps in ChatGPT, the Globe noted. Steinberg said Loblaw "may be" planning partnerships with other AI services.

Loblaw said it already uses OpenAI models in-house, including Robin, an AI assistant for store owners and managers, and agentic tools in supply-chain management. "With OpenAI, Loblaw is closing the gap across multiple experiences between what AI is capable of and the value they can create today," said Giancarlo 'GC' Lionetti, Chief Commercial Officer, OpenAI. The Globe also reported that Loblaw is looking beyond groceries: the same OpenAI study found 5.7% of topics touched on health, fitness, beauty or self-care, an opening for Loblaw-owned Shoppers Drug Mart.

A week later, on Feb. 19, Loblaw announced a separate collaboration with Google. It said Canadians would soon be able to buy health, beauty and apparel products directly through AI Mode in Google Search and the Gemini app, and that it would scale its use of Google Cloud's Vertex AI (Loblaw).

What Loblaw said in May

On the May 6 call, Bank said: "Last quarter, we launched the PC Express integration with OpenAI, so ChatGPT, turning previously dead-end recipe searches into transactions. Customer adoption is already ahead of plan. We are continuing to advance our leadership with the 2.0 version coming soon." He added that Loblaw is "starting to roll out AI productivity tools across our teams."

Bank didn't say how many people use the app, how many carts reach checkout, or what the plan was.

What's changed

This is the starting point for the series. A large grocer has put its storefront inside a general-purpose chatbot, while keeping payment on its own site. The early claims are about being first and growing fast; none yet come with a usage figure.

What went wrong

No numbers. "Ahead of plan" has no published plan to measure against.
Unattributed growth. Online sales rose 20.3%, but Loblaw didn't say how much came through ChatGPT.
Not a full agent. The chatbot builds the cart; the customer still checks out on Loblaw's site.
What we don't know yet: active users, conversion from cart to checkout, and what "2.0" will add.

Our follow-up question for Loblaw

How many PC Express orders started in ChatGPT in the first quarter, and what target were they ahead of?

Later developments (added Oct. 2026)

Loblaw's second-quarter 2026 Report to Shareholders, covering the 24 weeks ended June 20, 2026, doesn't mention ChatGPT or OpenAI. We found no 2.0 launch announcement. (Loblaw)

Sources

Loblaw Companies Limited, “Loblaw advances AI in Canadian retail with first-of-its-kind shopping app in ChatGPT,” Feb. 12, 2026. loblaw.ca
Susan Krashinsky Robertson, The Globe and Mail, “Loblaw introducing ChatGPT integration for its grocery delivery app,” Feb. 12, 2026. theglobeandmail.com
StockAnalysis, “Loblaw Companies (TSX:L) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript & Audio,” May 6, 2026. stockanalysis.com
Lee Rivett, Retail Insider, “Loblaw Says ChatGPT Grocery Integration Is Ahead of Plan,” May 8, 2026. retail-insider.com
Loblaw Companies Limited, “2026 Second Quarter Report to Shareholders,” 24 weeks ended June 20, 2026. dis-prod.assetful.loblaw.ca
Loblaw Companies Limited, “Loblaw Accelerates the Adoption of AI-driven Digital Commerce in Canada with Google Collaboration,” Feb. 19, 2026. loblaw.ca

Disclosure: [not in copy] Editor placeholder