Coles Taps Coveo for AI Search and Product Discovery in Online Grocery

Coveo Solutions Inc. (CVO.TO ) announced on October 21, 2026, that Coles Group Limited has selected Coveo to power AI search and product discovery on coles.com.au, the Australian retailer’s online grocery platform. Financial terms of the selection were not disclosed.

The deployment is designed to make it simpler for customers to navigate Coles’ extensive online grocery range and to find products quickly and with confidence, according to Coveo’s announcement, which was datelined Montreal and Melbourne, Australia. Coveo said its AI-Relevance technology brings together shopper intent, context, behavioral signals and product data to present each customer with the results and recommendations most relevant to them. For a large, constantly changing grocery range, the company said, that produces a more intuitive experience for shoppers.

Ben Levinson, general manager of digital product at Coles, said the retailer is always looking for ways to make shopping with Coles easier for its customers and that search is an important part of the online experience. “Coveo demonstrated that its technology will make it easier for customers to find the products they are looking for, and we look forward to continuing to improve the Coles online shopping experience,” he said.

Alexander Mahr, managing director for APAC at Coveo, said helping Australians find their everyday grocery products faster and easier is a great opportunity for the company. “We’re proud to support Coles as it creates a smarter, more intuitive online grocery experience for customers across Australia,” he said.

Coles’ Online Grocery Business

In its 2026 full-year results release, filed with the Australian Securities Exchange on August 25, 2026, Coles reported group sales revenue of A$45.6 billion for the 52 weeks ended June 28, 2026, an increase of 2.8%. Supermarkets eCommerce sales grew 26.4% to A$5.6 billion, with eCommerce penetration reaching 13.6% for the year and 14.6% in the fourth quarter; those eCommerce figures include liquor sold through coles.com.au. Coles said penetration increased to 15.7% over the first eight weeks of fiscal 2027 and described its differentiated eCommerce offer as a significant driver of growth.

Managing director and chief executive officer Leah Weckert said the year’s performance demonstrated the benefits of the company’s investments in automation and eCommerce, disciplined execution and a focus on delivering value for customers.

Coles said its two Customer Fulfilment Centres achieved positive EBITDA for the year, their second year of operation, citing expanded catchment areas, the introduction of same-day delivery from the centres, and the installation of on-grid robotic pick arms, auto frame loading and auto bagging technology. It said store-fulfilled Click & Collect benefited from improved wait times and additional capacity as same-day orders in Melbourne and Sydney transitioned to the centres.

The retailer also expanded its partnership with Uber Eats during the year, providing customers with what it described as the largest selection of groceries available on an on-demand delivery platform in Australia. It enhanced digital functionality, including checkout improvements, in-store detection and ‘New for You’ and ‘My Weekly Specials’ app features, and it increased adoption of AI and automation, including providing store support team members with access to ChatGPT Enterprise.

Coles is accelerating investment in stores, online capacity and technology over the next two years, with plans to open approximately 45 new supermarkets in infill locations and high-growth corridors, renew approximately 150 supermarkets, and simplify technology to improve efficiency and accelerate further adoption of AI-enabled capabilities. The program is supported by an additional A$300 million of investment by the end of fiscal 2028, approximately A$150 million per annum. Total capital expenditure in fiscal 2027 is expected to be approximately A$1.55 billion.

Coles operated 870 supermarkets and 988 liquor stores as of June 28, 2026, a group total of 1,858 stores, according to the release.

Coveo’s Results and Outlook

Coveo, which reports in U.S. dollars, said in its first-quarter fiscal 2027 results, released July 30, 2026, that SaaS Subscription Revenue rose 9% to $37.4 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, while total revenue increased 8% to $38.5 million. Net loss was $5.8 million compared with $15.1 million in the prior period, Adjusted EBITDA was $0.1 million compared with ($1.9) million, and cash and cash equivalents stood at $107.1 million as of June 30, 2026.

The company said that shortly after quarter-end it closed the largest transaction in its history, with a Fortune Global 500 technology company, bringing that customer’s total annualized SaaS subscription spend to eight figures. During the first quarter it secured a seven-figure new-business expansion with a Fortune 500 distributor of healthcare products that now has several use cases spanning Knowledge and Commerce, and it said B2B Commerce continued to demonstrate traction.

Coveo said its Conversational Search, powered by Coveo Search Agents, is live in production with five customers and is being evaluated by dozens of additional customers, while several customers are onboarding its recently launched Conversational Product Discovery. It also launched Merchandising Copilot, an agentic assistant built into its Merchandising Hub. Coveo said it was named a Leader in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Search and Product Discovery and was noted as one of the only vendors capable of supporting a wide range of enterprise commerce use cases across both B2C and B2B environments.

The company’s full-year fiscal 2027 outlook calls for SaaS Subscription Revenue of $154.0 million to $158.0 million and total revenue of $160.0 million to $164.0 million.

Coveo will release its fiscal second-quarter 2027 results, covering the quarter ended September 30, 2026, after market close on Thursday, October 29, 2026, followed by a 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time conference call hosted by co-founder and chief executive officer Laurent Simoneau, executive chairman Louis Têtu and chief financial officer Karine Hamel, the company announced on October 8, 2026.