Home Depot Partners with Google Cloud: Agentic AI 'Magic Apron' Transforms In-Store Experience

Key Takeaways

Home Depot expands strategic partnership with Google Cloud, significantly enhancing the "Magic Apron" AI assistant
Agentic AI provides real-time guidance from product recommendations to expert advice, marking a new phase in retail AI adoption
E-commerce operators should consider designing AI experiences that support the entire customer journey, from search to execution

New AI Strategy Announced at NRF 2026

The Home Depot and Google Cloud Launch Agentic AI Tools to Help Customers and Associates Bring Projects from 'How-to' to 'Done'

Home Depot and Google Cloud pioneer a new era of agentic commerce

On January 11, 2026, at NRF 2026, the largest retail industry event in the United States, Home Depot and Google Cloud announced an expansion of their strategic partnership. This collaboration adds new agentic AI capabilities to the "Magic Apron" AI assistant, providing real-time expert support to all customers, from DIY enthusiasts to professional contractors.

Leveraging Google Cloud's Gemini models and "Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience," Home Depot is creating an "AI-first" personalized customer experience. This initiative is attracting attention as a transformative approach to the in-store shopping experience.

Background and Industry Trends

The retail industry has seen rapid progress in using AI to enhance customer experiences. However, most AI tools to date have been limited to simple search assistance and FAQ responses.

What makes Home Depot's approach groundbreaking is its full-scale adoption of "agentic AI." Agentic AI refers to AI that can autonomously plan and execute complex tasks, not just answer user questions. In other words, it provides consistent support from "search to purchase to project completion," rather than stopping at "search and done."

On the same day, Google Cloud published a blog titled "A New Era of Agentic Commerce", revealing that major retailers including Kroger, Lowe's, Papa John's, and Woolworths have adopted Gemini Enterprise for CX. Across the retail industry, the movement to evolve AI from a "passive tool" to an "active partner" is accelerating.

Revolutionary Features of Magic Apron

Conversational Project Guidance

The key feature of Magic Apron is its ability to support entire projects through natural language conversations. For example, when asked "What's the best grout for glass tiles?", it provides not just a product list, but DIY guides, recommended products, and precise shelf locations within the store.

From leak repairs to full kitchen renovations, it handles projects of all scales. Customers can complete projects by following AI guidance, even without expert knowledge.

Multimodal Capabilities

Multimodal features, coming soon, will enable image uploads and visualization tools. For example, uploading a photo of a broken faucet allows the AI to diagnose the problem and suggest necessary parts and repair procedures.

Real-Time In-Store Navigation

As the retail industry's first "localized AI agent," Magic Apron integrates with store real-time inventory information. It guides customers to product locations with "aisle-level precision," significantly reducing in-store navigation time.

Currently being tested in select stores, nationwide rollout is planned within the coming months.

Enhanced Features for Professionals

For "Pro" customers such as contractors and renovators, an AI-powered materials list generation feature is available. A beta version was released in November 2025.

Simply describe a project by voice or text to automatically generate a materials list. You can also upload existing lists or have the AI complete partial information. This significantly reduces the time needed to create estimates.

AI Application in Delivery and Fulfillment

Home Depot is also applying agentic AI to delivery operations. A new "Route Intelligence" tool combining Gemini and Google Maps Platform improves delivery success rates.

The system analyzes customer-specific delivery information along with external data such as weather and road conditions. It identifies potential access issues before delivery and recommends appropriate equipment and crew sizes. By preventing delivery failures, it achieves both improved customer satisfaction and cost reduction.

Evolution of Customer Support

In customer support, conversational AI has been introduced for SMS, chat, and phone interactions. Moving beyond rigid automated responses, it supports problem-solving through more human-like dialogue.

Additionally, "Gemini Enterprise" has been deployed to thousands of store associates to automate business workflows, creating an environment where staff can focus on strategic tasks.

Impact and Applications for E-commerce Operators

Home Depot's initiatives provide important insights for e-commerce operators.

Changing the Design Philosophy of AI Experiences

AI adoption in e-commerce sites has traditionally focused on improving product search and recommendation engines. However, agentic AI directly supports "achieving customer goals." A shift in thinking is required: supporting customers in solving their problems, which ultimately leads to purchases, rather than simply selling products.

Deepening Omnichannel Integration

Magic Apron blurs the boundaries between online and offline. It provides a consistent AI experience from planning at home to receiving real-time guidance in-store to delivery. E-commerce operators should also consider how to leverage AI in their integration with physical stores.

Strengthening B2B Features for Professional Customers

The materials list generation feature is a valuable case study for B2B e-commerce operators. The strategy of increasing professional customer loyalty by providing business efficiency tools can be applied to other industries.

Summary

The partnership between Home Depot and Google Cloud sets a new standard for AI adoption in retail. With agentic AI, customers can receive seamless support from the "information search" stage to the "project completion" stage.

Notably, integration with "Google Search's AI Mode" and the Gemini app is planned within the coming months. Agentic shopping experiences may extend across Google's entire ecosystem, beyond Home Depot's own platform.

For e-commerce operators, this movement is not just a technology trend but demands a fundamental reconsideration of customer experience design. It's a good opportunity to think about what "goals" your customers truly want to achieve and how AI can support that achievement.