Puma to offer in-store AI customer assistant
A global athletic footwear and apparel giant is introducing an interactive artificial intelligence tool for brick-and-mortar shoppers.
Puma is exclusively debuting a multilingual, AI-equipped device it calls the “AI Store Concierge” at its Las Vegas flagship store in spring 2026. Shaped like a large display, AI Store Concierge will automatically detect the language a customer speaks and then via interactive conversation provide information about product, fit and technical details.
The AI Store Concierge will also deliver up-to-date athlete performance insights and check whether requested items are in stock. It will initially focus on Puma’s performance running products. Conversations with customers will seamlessly transition to store associates who can provide more personalized product advice as needed.
Puma built the solution in collaboration with strategic partners LiveX.AI and Google Cloud (see below for other Puma-Google Cloud collaborative activity) and runs it on an open Nvidia Nemotron agentic AI model. It is proactive rather than observational and will not track or store personal data, and is focused exclusively on product, inventory and performance information.
“Puma will be one of the first companies to introduce an AI Concierge in a store,” said Rui Pedro Silva, VP, direct-to-consumer technology at Puma. “By integrating this technology directly into the store environment, we’re making product exploration faster, more intuitive, and more accessible. With this first example of the AI Concierge, we will gather feedback and explore how to further scale this technology on our direct-to-consumer channels.”
The Las Vegas AI Store Concierge installation will speak multiple languages beyond English, including Spanish, Mandarin, French and Arabic.
“Puma’s new in-store assistant shows what happens when Nvidia AI software and accelerated computer meets frontline retail,” said Andrew Sun, senior director, retail business development at Nvidia. “When Nemotron open-source models run on Nvidia NIM and NeMo microservices, AI becomes a real partner on the sales floor, helping store teams connect with shoppers, tell better product stories, and elevate customer service where it matters most.”
In other AI-related customer engagement efforts, Puma recently deploying the AI-equipped SAP Emarsys omnichannel customer engagement solution to personalize the customer path to purchase across its direct-to-consumer platforms, in-store experiences and third-party channels.
[READ MORE: Puma personalizes customer experience across touchpoints with AI]
The company, which has also implemented a centralized site performance analytics portal from Yottaa and consolidated its global e-commerce data and workloads onto Google Cloud, is now leveraging SAP Emarsys to tailor offers, provide exclusive app content and drive early access to launches for customers wherever they are located.
The Puma Group owns the brands Puma, Cobra Golf and stichd. The company distributes its products in more than 120 countries, employs about 20,000 people worldwide, and is headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany.
