Woolworths is developing an AI-powered food assistant designed to help customers answer one of the most common daily questions: “What’s for dinner tonight?”
The tool, My Woolies Chef, will initially be accessible in the Woolworths app to a small group of existing MyDifference loyalty programme members. Beta testing is scheduled to begin in September 2026, ahead of a broader rollout planned for early 2027.
The system uses conversational AI to help customers find meal ideas, plan with less effort and shop for ingredients more seamlessly.
“Drawing from 20 years’ worth of trusted Woolworths Taste recipes, the tool allows customers to engage with the tool to receive relevant recipe suggestions based on ingredients, preferences, household needs or occasions,” says the company.
“Unlike general-purpose AI tools, My Woolies Chef is built specifically around the Woolworths food ecosystem. The assistant combines local recipe content, product information and shopping functionality to deliver recommendations that are relevant to the South African customer context and directly connected to the Woolworths shopping experience.”
The tech behind the tool
My Woolies Chef uses generative and conversational AI to interpret customer requests and suggest recipes from the Woolworths Taste catalogue. Rather than relying on searches for specific products, categories or recipes, the tool considers the context of each request.
Customers can use natural language prompts related to meal planning, dietary preferences and household needs. Examples include asking for a quick family dinner using available ingredients, a vegetarian meal for two, make-ahead lunchbox ideas or a simple menu for entertaining guests.
The recommendations draw on Woolworths Taste recipes and take into account ingredients available locally, seasonal factors and practical cooking requirements for South African households.
Jose Rodrigues, Woolworths group data and AI officer, says: “Conversational AI allows customers to engage with Woolworths’ food content and digital shopping experience in a more intuitive way. Instead of navigating multiple searches, they can describe what they need in everyday language and receive suggestions that are relevant to the context of their request. Our focus is on developing the technology responsibly, testing it through a phased rollout and improving the experience through customer feedback.”
Woolworths will use the beta phase to evaluate customer behaviour, refine recommendation quality and improve the overall user experience ahead of a broader rollout. The company says that feedback from participating customers will play an important role in shaping future functionality and enhancements.
Optimising the online shopping journey
The tool forms part of Woolworths’ evolving digital ecosystem, bringing together food content, product information and digital shopping functionality into a connected customer experience. My Woolies Chef aims to reduce the steps between deciding what to cook and shopping for what is needed.
Once customers have chosen a recipe, they can click through to an automatically linked basket on Woolies Dash. Ingredients can be adjusted according to what they already have in the fridge or pantry.
“Our goal is to make technology truly useful by solving real customer problems,” says Rodrigues. “My Woolies Chef is a practical example of how AI can support customers in everyday moments, while enhancing the way they plan, shop and cook.”