Tesco rolls out AI meal planner that uses Clubcard buys to suggest what to cook

U.K.'s Tesco has begun rolling out an AI meal-planning assistant in its app that uses customers' Clubcard purchase histories to suggest recipes.

Here's what to know

In a more customer-facing use of AI, Tesco is adding an app feature that uses shoppers' past buying patterns to help organize meal planning, according to The Standard. After first piloting the feature with about 280,000 employees in April, Tesco has extended the tool to shoppers.

Shoppers can search for meal ideas by budget, cuisine, or both, and the assistant can also carry on a back-and-forth conversation and tailor recipes to dietary preferences.

If customers enter ingredients they already have and want to use up, the tool can build meal suggestions around them. Tesco also said the link to Clubcard data could help the assistant determine what items a shopper already has in the kitchen.

More background

Tesco's AI launch is the first step in a bigger plan to make its app more useful for shoppers in their day-to-day life. According to The Standard, the retailer wants to widen the assistant's role over time so it can help with more than meal inspiration.

Having doubled the size of its technology team, the assistant was built by Tesco's in-house teams working with Tomoro AI — a U.K.-based consultancy launched in 2023 and allied with OpenAI. Tesco said it carried out the project under "strict secrecy protocols."

Tesco's push also comes amid debates about AI and the energy grid. Systems like this can help optimize logistics, reduce waste, and even support cleaner energy management, but AI models and the data centers behind them can also use large amounts of electricity and water, putting greater strain on infrastructure, security risks, misuse, and cost pressures that can eventually be passed on to consumers.

What's being done?

By placing the assistant inside the app customers already use, the technology can use price, cuisine, dietary needs, and ingredients already at home, helping some households stretch food further and cut down on unused items.

The Standard reported that Tesco has a three-year strategic deal with European AI startup Mistral to build additional AI tools.

Tesco chief executive Ken Murphy said, "We are also making strong progress on AI-enabled personalisation, extending Your Clubcard Prices and beginning the customer rollout of our meal planning assistant, helping customers manage their busy lives."

Where can I learn more?

Here are more stories on how AI and smarter grocery tools are changing cooking, food waste, and shopping habits.

• On TikTok, creators have pushed AI-slop recipes from social media into everyday home cooking experiments.

• At home, families can get the most out of groceries while cutting household food waste.

• In commercial kitchens, Winnow has used an AI system to analyze diners' habits and curb waste.

• At OneThird, teams now use the predicted shelf life of produce to cut waste.

• In France, supermarkets are testing reusable packaging for groceries as shopping habits evolve.

Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.