Pick n Pay asap! has launched Penny, South Africa’s first fully integrated AI-powered grocery shopping companion, transforming the way customers shop for groceries through natural conversations.

Powered by Google’s Gemini AI models, Penny is built into the Pick n Pay asap! app and allows shoppers to create grocery baskets, plan meals and discover products using voice, text or images. Unlike a customer service chatbot, Penny is focused entirely on helping customers shop and does not handle payments, account management or order enquiries.

The feature will be available in the latest version of the Pick n Pay asap! app and will be rolled out to all customers from 6 July 2026.

Instead of manually searching for products, customers can simply tell Penny what they need in their preferred language by speaking, typing or even uploading a photo. The AI instantly builds a shopping basket based on the request.

“On-demand delivery changed how people shop. AI is now changing how they order,” said Enrico Ferigolli, Retail Executive: Omnichannel at Pick n Pay. “We’re moving from search-and-scroll shopping to conversation-led shopping that makes buying groceries faster, smarter and more intuitive.”

Google South Africa Country Director Kabelo Makwane said the launch demonstrates how AI is evolving from simply answering questions to helping people complete everyday tasks.

“The power of multimodal AI is that people don’t have to adapt to technology—the technology adapts to them,” he said. “Whether someone speaks, types or shares a photo, AI understands their intent.”

Penny has been designed around the shopping habits of South African consumers. It can help customers complete weekly grocery shops, find products, plan meals, suggest recipes, recommend substitutions and generate shopping lists based on ingredients already available at home.

Customers can also upload handwritten shopping lists, photograph recipe ingredients, snap pictures of products they want to buy, or ask Penny for meal ideas using ingredients already in their fridge. Recommended recipe ingredients can be added directly to the shopping basket.

The AI also simplifies repeat purchases by allowing shoppers to reload previous orders or recreate their regular weekly basket with a simple request.

Integrated with Pick n Pay’s Smart Shopper programme, Penny personalises recommendations based on customers’ previous purchases, favourite brands, preferred quantities and price preferences.

According to Ferigolli, Penny represents the next phase of digital grocery shopping.

“By understanding what customers are cooking, buying and planning, Penny becomes more than a shopping app—it becomes a genuine shopping companion that makes grocery shopping dramatically faster and simpler,” he said.

The launch follows Pick n Pay’s recent upgrade of its online shopping platform, which the retailer says has significantly accelerated the development of new digital services.

“This is only the beginning of what AI can unlock for everyday grocery shopping, and Penny is the first step in that journey,” Ferigolli added.

//Staff writer