From Mindset to Market: Otto Group’s AI in Action Across Retail

With a proven track record of successfully managing every major shift in retail over decades, the Otto Group now embarks on the path towards AI commerce. The company views AI Commerce as a defining change, requiring an AI-first mindset and making technology an integral component of the organization's thinking, decision-making, and ways of working.

"This is not merely another technology cycle – it is a fundamental shift of how we work and compete," says Petra Scharner-Wolff, CEO of the Otto Group. "For us, an AI-first mindset means empowering our people and leaders to embrace this change with courage and conviction, actively shaping the future of commerce rather than simply responding to it."

The rise of AI Commerce offers unseen possibilities to inspire customers and transforms traditional customer journeys into more intuitive experiences. It demands adaptation far beyond technology adoption alone. Establishing an AI-first culture – a continuous operating system for human-AI collaboration – is critical to successfully navigating this disruption. This strategic commitment is already taking shape across the Otto Group's diverse business units, encompassing everything from digital-first companies to robust omnichannel models, with AI enhancing capabilities, driving optimization, and unlocking new forms of customer value. The following examples illustrate this approach in action.

Crate & Barrel’s Bring it Home initiative takes a step ahead fueled by Agentic Shopping
Crate & Barrel strengthens its commitment to a customer focused company by launching a new shopping experience through its AI-powered Shopping Agent, now live and built on Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience. Moving beyond conventional search, this conversational and multimodal experience is specifically designed to bridge the gap between inspiration and purchase – transferring the brand's signature in-store hospitality and premium curation to the digital realm reinforcing the company’s strength in Omni channel selling and service.

Bonprix: AI-first Reshaping of Product Development
Bonprix is redesigning product development through "VestiFlow," built on Google Cloud and developed together with Otto Group One.O, the group's for strategy consulting and technology company. The vision for VestiFlow is an end-to-end, AI-driven reshaping of the entire product development lifecycle, from initial trend analysis to final content production.

A pilot project is currently underway, covering the initial phases: trend discovery, assortment fit, and product design. Within this pilot, VestiFlow leverages AI to provide automated market insights, generate strategic assortment proposals, and support detailed product design and specifications – aiming to deliver more data-driven product decisions and a stronger alignment between trends, customer needs, and brand identity.

“An AI tool on top of existing steps changes little. At Bonprix and One.O, we are uniting three critical elements within one cross-functional team: process reshaping, AI engineering, and agile integration. With Bonprix, we are rebuilding product development end-to-end, ensuring a single trend signal flows seamlessly into assortment, design, and content without interruption," says Katrin Behrens, CEO of Otto Group One.O.

OTTO: AI Assistant Powered by Google Gemini Boosts Engagement and Sales Performance
OTTO introduced its new AI assistant, powered by Google Gemini technology, to create a truly dialogue-oriented online shopping experience. Within the OTTO app, it combines text and voice interaction with comprehensive product catalogue knowledge to deliver highly personalized advice. Early results underscore the effectiveness of this approach: Users interacting via voice mode show significantly higher engagement depth, with an average of 11 turns per session, drastically outperforming text mode's average of two user turns. This intense engagement leads to an average increase of 37% in order value compared to classic search, along with measurably higher conversion rates.

Additionally, an internally developed AI agent streamlines customer service, processing standard inquiries instantly while seamlessly escalating complex cases to human agents. The long-term goal for OTTO is a centralized, multimodal AI environment that seamlessly guides and advises customers from inspiration, through product selection, to comprehensive service.

Google’s Perspective on the Future of AI in Retail
"We are moving past an era where AI simply served as a passive search tool, shifting instead toward systems that can independently solve complex problems," said Carrie Tharp, GTM COO and VP of Customer Experience, Google Cloud. "The real impact happens when a retailer connects these intelligent agents across their entire business. By anchoring Google’s AI infrastructure within the Otto Group’s operations, we are seeing this shift transform everything from initial trend discovery and product design at Bonprix, to highly interactive, high-value customer dialogues at OTTO and Crate & Barrel. It shows that agentic commerce is fundamentally reshaping both the front-end customer experience and the backend processes that support it."

According to Google, by moving beyond passive browsing to proactive problem-solving, retailers are shifting from reactive data analysis to real-time, orchestrated execution – integrating everything from supply chain logistics and creative production to hyper-personalized customer service. This fundamental rewiring of the commerce ecosystem creates a continuous operating system for retail, where technology acts not as a standalone tool, but as the connective tissue that synchronizes back-end efficiency with front-end consumer needs.

Shaping the Future of Retail with an AI-First Vision
The Otto Group reinforces its decisive commitment to actively shaping the future of AI Commerce. This engagement is deeply rooted in its unique identity as a company powered by people and technology, honed over decades of continuous adaptation and market leadership. The Group’s AI-first approach is not merely about technological adoption, but fundamentally aims to secure long-term future viability by continuously redefining how it meets the expectations of 42 million of customers worldwide. Backed by a strategic mid-term investment of €350 million in Tech & IT, the Otto Group actively ensures a responsible, human-centered evolution of AI in retail.

Please find all information and photos in our Electronic Press Kit: https://www.ottogroup.com/innovationinsights2026-withGoogle