Bunnings Launches AI Assistant Buddy to Enhance Customer Experience

Bunnings launches AI assistant Buddy to enhance customer experience

Bunnings has launched Buddy, an AI-powered assistant designed to help customers plan DIY projects, find products more easily and shop with greater confidence from home.

The new tool is now rolling out across the Bunnings website and is expected to become available on the Bunnings app from 10 April, with a New Zealand launch planned later this year. The initiative forms part of the retailer’s broader focus on using data and AI to improve customer experience, support teams and drive long-term growth.

Helping customers move from inspiration to action

Buddy is designed to make DIY planning more accessible by offering customers more personalised and practical support as they browse and shop online.

According to Bunnings, the AI assistant can guide users through projects, answer more complex questions and help identify the products they need. It can also read a photo of a handwritten shopping list, locate the items in seconds and add them directly to a customer’s online cart.

This approach reflects a broader shift in retail, where digital tools are increasingly being used not only to support transactions, but also to guide customers through decision-making and project planning.

Blending AI with trusted in-store expertise

While Buddy introduces a new digital layer to the customer journey, Bunnings has positioned it as a complement to the trusted advice its team provides in store.

The experience is built on existing how-to content and team expertise, allowing the brand to extend practical guidance beyond the physical store environment. This creates a more connected customer journey, where shoppers can move more easily between research, planning and purchase.

Bunnings has also emphasised that the assistant has been designed to operate responsibly, with guardrails and consent-led customer interactions shaping how it works.

A sign of where retail is heading

The launch of Buddy highlights how retailers are beginning to use AI in more practical and customer-facing ways.

Rather than focusing only on efficiency behind the scenes, tools like this are being used to create more useful, personalised and accessible shopping experiences. For the retail sector, this is another sign that AI is moving beyond automation and becoming a more visible part of the customer journey.

As retailers continue to invest in customer experience, digital guidance and smarter shopping support are likely to become an increasingly important part of the industry landscape.

What This Means for Retail

Bunnings’ launch of Buddy shows how AI is evolving from a back-end technology into a customer-facing retail tool. As more retailers look to improve convenience, guidance and personalisation, AI assistants may become an increasingly important part of how consumers browse, plan and buy.

Source：Bunnings