A healthy, delicious meal, we all want that, and preferably every night? For many, however, shopping remains a boring and time-consuming job. Certainly if you also have to take into account the different preferences and needs of your table companions. Artificial Intelligence saves time within the supermarket chains.

You go to the supermarket, (sometimes) have a shopping list ready and you walk from one aisle to the other while you think you really know what you are looking for. Then you also have to choose from a large number of different sizes, brands and prices. Oh, and what was that one ingredient from that one recipe? If only it had been written down.

Fortunately, there are technical gadgets that can help you with this. Innovations that know what you want to eat, which route you should walk in the supermarket, where you can find the best prices and what the name of that forgotten product was. Does that sound interesting to you? For supermarket chains such as Albert Heijn and Coop it is. Artificial intelligence (AI) makes this possible. It reduces the hassle of shopping and gives us more time for things that are really important, such as spending time with friends and family at the dinner table.

Smarter, more personal shopping lists

The key to successful shopping is a good shopping list. Albert Heijn, part of Ahold Delhaize , has created an AI-driven solution in collaboration with Microsoft, called Predict My List .

By recording, storing and analyzing online and offline store data, such as past purchases, location and even time of the year in the cloud , Albert Heijn uses AI to predict and recommend optimal shopping lists, alternative items , recipes and more for its 10 million weekly customers.

In Italy, another AI-driven store clerk is making a furore on social media. Coop, Italy's largest supermarket network, has developed a built-in Facebook chatbot called ShoppY .

Through machine learning, ShoppY can anonymously learn and process the data from a customer's shopping list to make recommendations for purchases and offers, find products in the store and even send a notification when stores in the area are open. ShoppY can also remember your shopping history, meaning it can repeat and update a previous shopping list, or create a new one while recommending new products that match the items on the customer's shopping list.

Find an empty shelf and 'see'

Supermarkets around the world also use technology-based solutions to ensure that their customers not only find what they are looking for, but that it is always in stock. For Dutch consumers, Albert Heijn has linked its stores and supply chain through big data, AI and machine learning to optimize inventory management and supply. And in Italy, Coop has built sensors in the shop floor to collect real-time data that helps optimize shelf filling.

In addition, the Italian supermarket giant in Milan has installed a number of interactive digital screens on the shop floor of the ' supermarket of the future ', with which customers can easily filter through the product range of 1500 items. During this process, customers get direct access to and visibility on the origin and ingredients of a product. Handy in case your table companions are picky or have an allergy .

Faster checkout

In addition to making shopping easier, supermarkets are also working to make the entire process faster. With a view to competition, often from players outside the food sector, Albert Heijn is testing a concept called Tap To Go in four of its 1,000 stores. With the new solution, customers can walk into a store, pay for a product by tapping the shelf with their card or phone and then walk through – reducing a typical shopping experience from four minutes to just 20 seconds.

European supermarkets are already hard at work innovating with AI and machine learning to make shopping more efficient and less time consuming. Do you wonder what you are going to eat tonight? Then let AI help you with the answer.