OHIO & NEW YORK - Sometimes I wish someone could look into my fridge and tell me what to cook, and I believe the majority of consumers would agree. Aiming to meet this desire, Kroger has launched the first generation of Chefbot, its AI-powered Twitter recipe tool that helps users' pair the groceries in their fridge and reduce food waste by providing mealtime inspiration and personalized recommendations.

"Last year, we launched Kroger's Fresh for Everyone brand transformation campaign to underscore our commitment and belief that everyone should have access to fresh, affordable, and delicious food," said Mandy Rassi, Kroger's Vice President of Marketing. "Chefbot is one of the ways we're delivering on that brand promise by making it even easier for our customers to achieve their meal aspirations, especially as the majority of shoppers are eating meals prepared at home multiple times a day during the pandemic. We're thrilled to partner with industry thought leaders like 360i, Coffee Labs, and Clarifai to bring Chefbot to our customers, and we look forward to this innovative technology inspiring fresh and delicious meals in kitchens across the country."

Developed in partnership with integrated creative and media agency 360i and technology partners Coffee Labs and Clarifai, Kroger's Chefbot offers an innovative and user-friendly conversational solution for breaking away from mundane mealtime routines and unwanted at-home food waste—common challenges for many as families continue to enjoy more meals together at home. Chefbot's AI analyzes photographs to recognize nearly 2,000 ingredients, unlocking 20,000 Kroger recipes for users to cook, according to a press release.

To use Chefbot, users can snap a photo of three ingredients from their refrigerator or pantry and tweet it to @KrogerChefbot. Through artificial intelligence, Chefbot identifies ingredients and then scans thousands of unique recipes on Kroger’s website. Within seconds, Chefbot responds to the user's original tweet to deliver a list of personalized recipe recommendations based on the selected ingredients.

"Never has it been more necessary for people to be able to find quick, sustainable, and easy solutions for making meals at home, and no place makes it easier for food brands to engage directly with these people than Twitter," said Dennis Bree, Twitter's Director of Catalyst + Government and Causes. "Through the use of innovative technology, Kroger is bringing meal-time inspiration to the people on Twitter who are actively Tweeting about the need for new recipes more than ever before."

Chefbot provides an interactive experience to help make life at home more manageable and reinforces Kroger's commitment to Fresh for Everyone as well as encourages professional foodies and amateur cooks alike to utilize all the food found in their pantries to help reduce food waste.

Chefbot's experience includes multiple touchpoints, offering fun social engagement through Twitter paired with e-commerce integration. Over time with learned insights, Chefbot's food recognition and recipe search technology will evolve and improve, allowing the possibilities of this powerful tool to advance.

"Chefbot illustrates how marketers can tap into augmented intelligence to deliver true service and value," said Menno Kluin, Chief Creative Officer at 360i. "Innovation often happens during times of seismic change. By leveraging visual AI in a bold new way, Kroger is bringing their promise of Fresh for Everyone to life while addressing pain points and helping shoppers maximize their purchases."

Chefbot is a tool that the consumer in us all has been searching for, meaning Kroger might just see its shopper base grow in coming months. Should that be the case, ANUK will be here to report.

Kroger