Target has appointed Chandhu Nair as its first chief AI officer as the retailer doubles down on the technology and its potential benefits for customers.
Nair comes to Target after more than six years with Lowe’s, where he was most recently senior vice president of stores, data, AI, and innovation. He previously served nine years at Staples, and cofounded a data analytics software company and a business strategy consulting startup.
“What excites me most is the opportunity to make AI real for the people who experience Target every day,” Chanhu said in a Q&A provided by the company. “The most meaningful AI stories won’t be about what happens in a lab. They’ll be about what happens on the front line—how we make shopping easier for a guest, give a team member a better tool, make a business decision with more confidence, or bring a new idea to market faster.”
Target is also promoting Purvi Shah, the current vice president of user experience design, to a senior VP role. The retailer is hoping the speed of AI, when paired with human-centered design, will elevate the shopping experience for customers.
The company’s AI efforts will impact both employee- and customer-facing systems. Shah has spent the past four years working on Target’s user experience systems, including assisting in the launch of a conversational shopping experience in ChatGPT eight months ago.
“Our role is to shape not only what people see, but the systems and decisions behind it to ensure each experience is as easy, inspiring, and valuable as it can be,” Shah said in the Q&A.
A fast-growing title
Target is one of many companies that are appointing a CAIO these days. Meta, Google, and IBM have all created the role, a logical step given the importance of AI to tech firms. But companies in other industries have also appointed a chief AI officer, including Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Accenture, and PwC.
Retailers have been a bit slower to create the role. Levi Strauss had one, but has not filled the position since she departed in 2023. Ralph Lauren’s CAIO has been in the job for 11 months. And Dollar General promoted from within to create the role in June. Target rival Walmart does not have a CAIO, but does have an executive vice president of artificial intelligence, product, and design.
The CAIO position has exploded alongside the broader AI boom. Just two years ago, the CAIO role barely existed. Last year, 26% of organizations had one. Today that number stands at 76%.
It’s worth noting that growth isn’t a sure thing. In 2022, dozens of major companies, especially luxury brands, boasted a “chief metaverse officer” (or a similar title), including Creative Artists Agency, Gucci, L’oréal, and Disney. Today that role is a rarity.
While Target will use AI to enhance employee tools, the real test for the company will be any public-facing steps it takes. That’s why Chandhu and Shah will work together closely—and they’re not in a hurry to make major changes to the shopping experience.
“My first responsibility will be to listen and learn: spending time with our teams and seeing the business through the eyes of the guests, team members, and partners,” Chandhu said. “From there, we can focus on the places where AI can make a real difference. . . . The measure of success won’t be how much AI we deploy. It will be the difference it makes for Target’s growth, the guest experience, and our team’s ability to do their best work. “
Initial changes could be on duties like managing inventories or simplifying work for employees, empowering them to give better-informed service. It could also mean streamlining online operations to accommodate both human and agent-driven shoppers, as bots now outnumber humans on the web.
“Intelligence may make a system more capable, but human-centered design helps make that capability understandable, useful, and trustworthy,” Shah said. “It helps us point the technology toward the opportunities that matter most and shape how a system should behave.”