In 2024, Gap Inc. laid the groundwork for how the retailer is using artificial intelligence (AI) across a variety of use cases. The company, which is responsible for the Athleta, Banana Republic, Old Navy and namesake brands, has a history of internal experience with AI. However, 2024 marked the establishment of a dedicated Office of AI.
Gap’s Office of AI focused immediately on “early use cases, primarily related to employee enablement,” said Richard Dickson, president and CEO at Gap, during a March earnings call. Importantly, the office was also intended to drive AI innovation related to strategic priorities with long-term impact as well.
“In 2025, we will be developing AI monetization opportunities relative to the consumer experience, product to market, as well as organizational productivity,” Dickson stated at the time. “Now, having organized the various ways we can use AI to enable value creation, we’re prepared to mobilize against this framework with intention.”
In 2025, Gap is bringing some of its latest AI work to bear for the holiday shopping season. In the meantime, the retailer is building on existing work for 2026, applying AI in these key areas.
How Gap is using AI for holiday sales
Ahead of Cyber Monday, Gap detailed a list of new personalized experiences. They’re meant to showcase how it is using AI to make holiday shopping journeys easier. Tapping into Gap’s partnership with Google Cloud, the new features were geared toward making “shopping faster, smarter, and more inspiring,” explained Sven Gerjets, the chief technology officer at Gap.
“By combining our deep retail expertise with the latest AI tools, we’re able to better understand what our customers want, anticipate their needs, and deliver experiences that feel uniquely tailored to them,” he said in November.
The features include curated trend-based recommendations, such as Gap’s Fall Trend Edit and Banana Republic’s Fall Essentials. Gerjets explained in a company blog post that these recommendations “highlight the styles, colors, and looks” that are timely. Other recommendations incorporate shoppers’ measurements and sizes when those details are known.
In addition, Gap deployed its digital assistant. The tools were made available through the “Chat with Us” option on its brands’ ecommerce sites and mobile apps. And it recommended that shoppers use AI platforms such as daydream.ing to discover Gap products and connect to brands’ websites.
The Gap Inc. ranks No. 20 in the Top 2000 Database. The database tracks North America’s largest online retailers by their annual ecommerce sales and more. Digital Commerce 360 projects Gap online sales will reach $6.04 billion in 2025.
Gap web sales by year
What Gap achieved using AI for fulfillment
“We’ve introduced new automation and AI capabilities across our omni fulfillment network from robotic unloaders to advanced storage and retrieval systems, which have increased productivity by nearly 30% compared to just a few years ago,” Dickson shared during Gap’s November earnings call. “This enables us to meet peak demand with greater speed, agility and precision.”
Dickson sees those efforts as having set Gap up for better outcomes during the holiday rush.
“With a fleet of about 2,500 stores globally and the largest specialty apparel ecommerce business in the U.S., we’re positioned to serve our customers wherever and however they choose to shop this holiday season,” he stated.
Forecasting demand with Gap’s data platform
Gap’s former interim chief information officer shared in 2022 how the company has applied AI. Goals included taking better advantage of its data platform to anticipate consumer demand.
“It uses predictive analytics and processes various datasets, including sales data and product features, to influence buying, positioning, pricing for inventory across all of [the] Gap brands,” Heather Mickman, who served in the role at the time, told VentureBeat.
She said that those efforts extended to inventory optimization as well. To that end, Gap applied its model to surface understandings of the dynamics that shape Gap’s sales and margins. While doing so, it also informed how much product should be stocked. Mickman explained that findings could be applied to determine which sizes of specific items sold best at individual stores.
In the meantime, AI use cases have stretched across Gap’s operations to other needs as well. Gerjets cited the current use of generative AI by Gap’s designers. For them, he said, AI gets put to use to turn sketches into “photorealistic product renders.”
“From product creation to customer care, our approach to AI is bringing more personalization, more creativity, and more connection to every shopping experience,” Gerjets stated.
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