Woolworths is expanding its digital offering with the launch of My Woolies Chef, an artificial intelligence-powered assistant that helps customers plan meals and shop for ingredients more conveniently.

Integrated into the Woolworths app, the new feature is designed to make the everyday task of deciding what to cook easier by providing recipe inspiration and linking it directly to grocery shopping.

My Woolies Chef uses artificial intelligence together with more than two decades of recipes from the Woolworths TASTE collection to generate personalised meal suggestions. Customers can enter simple prompts based on ingredients they already have, dietary requirements, family preferences or special occasions to receive tailored recipe recommendations.

After selecting a recipe, users can instantly add the required ingredients to a linked shopping basket on Woolies DASH, creating a seamless transition from meal planning to online grocery ordering.

The feature will initially be released to a limited group of MyDifference loyalty programme members from September 2026 as part of a beta testing phase. Woolworths plans a wider rollout in early 2027.

By combining recipe discovery, meal planning and online shopping in a single platform, the retailer aims to make the customer journey more convenient while offering a more personalised shopping experience.

The assistant also enables users to modify recipes according to the ingredients already available in their fridge or pantry, helping reduce unnecessary purchases and making it easier to use food already at home.

Unlike general-purpose AI platforms, My Woolies Chef has been developed specifically for South African shoppers. It focuses on locally relevant recipes, seasonal produce and direct integration with the Woolworths digital shopping ecosystem, allowing customers to move from meal inspiration to checkout in one connected experience.

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