Buyer's guide
The best AI shopping assistants for grocery retailers in 2026
Thirteen options, Gulf grocery first, then by the kind of retailer each one suits, with what they do well, their limits, and five tests to run on your own catalog.
In short
The best AI shopping assistant depends on the retailer. For a Gulf supermarket chain whose shoppers order in Gulf Arabic or Arabizi, in its app, on WhatsApp and by phone, from a branch: Hephon Commerce, or Yellow.ai for a service-first enterprise. Thikaa, Nateq or ArabyBot suit smaller Gulf stores on Salla or WhatsApp, Constructor large search-led online grocers, and Rep AI or Alhena Shopify brands.
We make Hephon Commerce, so judge it by the five tests below, like everyone else on this list.
Updated
Which one fits your kind of retailer?
The short verdict. Each pick links to its full entry and comparison below.
- Large online grocer, English-first, search-led
- Constructor: grocery search, store-level availability, substitutes, and recipes built from what is in stock. Bloomreach Clarity if you already run Bloomreach.
- Shopify or DTC brand
- Rep AI for a low-cost sales agent from $12 a month. Alhena for sales and support together, more channels, voice, and SOC 2 Type 2.
- Complex products, not groceries
- Zoovu: guided selling, product quizzes and product data enrichment, in over 200 languages.
- Gulf enterprise, service first
- Yellow.ai: one platform for service, loyalty and campaigns, with Lulu Hypermarket's WhatsApp assistant as a reference.
- Gulf store on Salla or Zid
- Thikaa for a Salla-native WhatsApp bot from $9.99 a month. Nateq for a support inbox with Salla and Zid connectors.
- Small grocer taking WhatsApp orders from a price sheet
- ArabyBot: list ordering, delivery zones and slots, from $10 a month.
- Gulf supermarket chain with branches, an app and phone orders
- Hephon Commerce: Gulf Arabic and Arabizi, each branch's prices, recipes with pack sizes, WhatsApp checkout and phone ordering.
- Grocer with its own AI team
- A custom build on Azure OpenAI or OpenAI, as Grandiose did with GrandChef, if you can maintain and test it yourself.
Five tests to run on your own catalog
Demos run on catalogs chosen to look good. These five tests use yours, and each takes a few minutes in any vendor's trial or pilot.
- Pack sizes
- Ask for "kabsa for 10" or "2 kilos of rice". A pass picks packs that cover the amount, says how many of each, and the basket total adds up.
- Branch prices
- Give two branches different prices and stock, then ask the same question from each. A pass shows each branch its own price and hides what it cannot deliver.
- Dialect and Arabizi
- Send "abgha 7aleeb almarai kbeer", a Saudi voice note and an Arabic-English mix. A pass finds the right product and answers in the script it was asked in.
- Out-of-stock substitution
- Ask for an item your branch has run out of. A pass says so plainly, offers a close substitute from the same category, and asks before swapping.
- Confirm before order
- Type or say "yes, order it". A pass reads the basket back and places nothing until an explicit confirm step: a tap, a checkout page or a keypad press.
Grocery is harder than most ecommerce for an assistant. A basket has thirty items, not one. The same product has five pack sizes, a price per branch and a stock level that changes by the hour. Shoppers in the Gulf write in Arabic, in Arabizi and in English, often in one message, and many would rather send a voice note or call. An assistant that does well on a fashion store can still fail every one of these tests, so run them before you sign.
Gulf and Arabic-first assistants
Best when your shoppers write and speak Arabic and live on WhatsApp.
1. Yellow.ai
An enterprise agentic AI platform for customer service, with chat, voice and email agents across 35+ channels. It built Lulu Hypermarket's WhatsApp assistant.
Best for: Large enterprises that want one AI platform for customer service, loyalty and marketing messages across many countries and channels.
What it does well
- A live Gulf grocery reference: Lulu Hypermarket's WhatsApp assistant handles order tracking, receipts, loyalty points, offers and in-store pickup orders.
- Breadth: 35+ voice and text channels, 135+ languages, email automation and employee-experience agents.
Limits
- Arabic dialects and Arabizi support are not stated publicly.
- Grocery basket building, branch prices and recipes are not described on its retail pages.
- Enterprise pricing is quote-based.
2. Hephon Commerce
An AI shopping assistant for supermarkets, grocery delivery and quick commerce in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, built by Hephon in Dubai, the team behind Panda's in-app Saudi-dialect shopping assistant.
Best for: Supermarkets, grocery delivery and quick-commerce retailers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE that want shoppers to order in Gulf Arabic, Arabizi or English inside their app, on WhatsApp and by phone.
What it does well
- Shopping is the whole product: it searches the live catalog with each branch's prices and stock, checks every result against what the shopper asked, and fills the basket.
- Saudi and Gulf Arabic, Lebanese Arabic and Arabizi, with a phrasebook of approved replies per dialect that the retailer can edit.
Limits
- Access is by invitation, through a demo. There is no self-serve sign-up.
- No public price: each retailer gets a proposal based on stores and channels.
3. Nateq
A Gulf customer service platform: one inbox for WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, web chat, email and calls, with AI agents that answer in Arabic dialects.
Best for: Gulf businesses that want an Arabic-first support inbox and AI agent across many channels, with public per-seat prices and a free trial.
What it does well
- Public prices: from $15 a seat a month, AI resolutions from $0.09 to $0.20, voice from $0.10 a minute, and a 14-day free trial.
- Salla and Zid catalog connectors, plus Shopify, CSV, product feeds and Meta Commerce.
Limits
- Its ecommerce page does not describe the agent placing orders; it sends payment links.
- Per-branch prices and stock are not stated publicly.
- A young company (founded 2025, registered in Wyoming, USA).
4. Thikaa
A Bahrain-based, Salla-native AI chatbot and shared inbox for WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and web chat, with an AI agent for WhatsApp and phone calls.
Best for: Salla stores and small Gulf retailers that want WhatsApp sales automation at a low public price.
What it does well
- A native Salla app with one-click install, plus Shopify and WooCommerce.
- Public prices from $9.99 to $49.99 a month, with a 7-day free trial and no card.
Limits
- Zid is not supported yet (its own words).
- Per-branch prices and stock are not stated publicly.
- Content rules such as halal are not stated publicly.
5. ArabyBot
A Cairo-based AI agent for WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and TikTok comments, built for small and mid-size Arab stores, with its own store builder.
Best for: Small shops and grocers that take orders on WhatsApp from a price sheet and want a low monthly price and a fast start.
What it does well
- Public prices: bot plans from $10 to $50 a month, a store builder from $9, and a 7-day free trial.
- List ordering: a shopper sends a typed or photographed list, each line is matched to your catalog and priced, and unclear lines are asked about.
Limits
- Salla and Zid connectors are not open yet (its pages say they open by agreement).
- Per-branch prices and stock are not stated publicly; it routes conversations to a branch's team.
- Voice calling is not stated publicly; it understands voice notes.
6. AskIt
An AI sales and service agent for retail chains in the UAE and Saudi Arabia that answers from a store's connected catalog, with in-store shelf directions.
Best for: Retail chains that want a website and in-store agent with shelf directions, and a presence inside ChatGPT.
What it does well
- Shelf directions in store, from verified location records, with QR codes in the aisle.
- A ChatGPT app channel.
Limits
- Pricing is not stated publicly.
- Ordering and checkout are not stated publicly.
- It says it makes no dialect benchmark claim.
Search and discovery platforms
Best when site search is your biggest lever and your shoppers buy on the web and in your app.
7. Constructor
An AI ecommerce search and product discovery platform with an AI Shopping Agent, used by large retailers, with a grocery offering.
Best for: Large online grocers and retailers whose biggest lever is site search, browse and recommendations on web and app.
What it does well
- Large-scale search, browse and recommendations, personalised per shopper, with merchandiser controls the agent cannot override.
- Recipes generated from what the grocer has in stock, with every ingredient added to cart from the recipe page.
Limits
- Languages, WhatsApp and voice are not stated publicly.
- Pricing is not stated publicly.
- Store-level pricing is not stated publicly (store-level availability is).
8. Bloomreach Clarity
Bloomreach's conversational shopping agent (its documentation now calls it Conversational agent), built on Bloomreach search and Google Gemini models.
Best for: Retailers already on Bloomreach search or marketing that want a conversational layer on their website.
What it does well
- Part of a large commerce platform covering search, merchandising and marketing.
- Asks clarifying questions on broad searches and starts conversations on product and category pages for shoppers who never search.
Limits
- Its documentation lists the website (desktop and mobile web) as the channel.
- Languages and pricing are not stated publicly.
- Not a support tool: it directs support questions to your team.
9. Zoovu
An AI product discovery platform: conversational search, guided selling, product quizzes and product data enrichment, mostly for considered purchases.
Best for: Retailers and manufacturers of considered products (appliances, electronics, tools) that need guided selling and cleaner product data.
What it does well
- Guided selling, product quizzes and conversational Q&A flows for complex products.
- Product data cleansing and enrichment across ecommerce platforms.
Limits
- Grocery is not among its listed industries.
- WhatsApp and voice are not stated publicly.
- Pricing is quote-based.
Ecommerce sales and support agents
Best for online brands on Shopify and similar platforms, with support tickets to deflect.
10. Alhena
An AI shopping assistant and support agent for ecommerce brands (formerly Gleen AI), with 200+ integrations and public prices.
Best for: Shopify, WooCommerce and Salesforce Commerce Cloud brands that want sales and support in one AI agent, with help-desk integrations and enterprise security.
What it does well
- Public prices: a free tier, then $199 to $999 a month billed yearly, and custom Enterprise.
- 200+ integrations, including Shopify, WooCommerce, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Zendesk, Gorgias, Freshdesk, Intercom and Kustomer.
Limits
- Arabic and Arabizi are not named on the pages we checked (it states 90+ languages).
- Grocery, recipes and branch prices are not described.
- WhatsApp is a listed channel; ordering on it is not described.
11. Rep AI
A Shopify-first AI sales and support agent that starts conversations from shopper behaviour and handles checkout in the chat.
Best for: Shopify brands that want an inexpensive, self-serve AI sales agent on their website.
What it does well
- Public prices from $12 a month and a 14-day free trial with no card.
- Proactive outreach driven by shopper behaviour such as hesitation and exit risk.
Limits
- Shopify first; other platforms are listed as integrations.
- Its own pages disagree on languages (all languages in 2024, English and Spanish in a 2026 post).
- Voice is not stated publicly.
Other routes
Building your own, and the assistants shoppers bring themselves.
12. Custom build
Building your own assistant on Azure OpenAI or OpenAI, as Grandiose did with GrandChef, built with Microsoft on Azure AI services.
Best for: Retailers with an in-house AI and engineering team, one platform to connect, and a reason to own every part of the assistant.
What it does well
- Full ownership of the code, the prompts and the roadmap.
- Data stays in the Azure geography you choose, and prompts and completions are not used to train models.
Limits
- Your team builds and maintains every part: search, dialects, channels, checkout and tests.
- Model usage is billed by your cloud provider, on top of the team's time.
- Azure Global and Data Zone deployments may process prompts outside your chosen geography.
13. Superchat
A UAE-built personal AI assistant for consumers that takes actions, including shopping across online stores, through an app and WhatsApp.
Best for: Shoppers who want one personal assistant to compare, order and track purchases across many stores.
What it does well
- Works for the shopper across many stores, not one retailer's catalog.
- Goes beyond shopping: calendar, inbox, bill payments and travel.
Limits
- A consumer product: retailers do not run it on their own catalog.
- Arabic is not stated publicly; the App Store lists English.
- Shop Anything was launched as a WhatsApp beta.
The 13 options side by side
From each vendor's own pages, checked on 5 November 2026. Not stated publicly does not mean missing.
| Assistant | Built for | Arabic dialects | WhatsApp ordering | Voice calls | Public prices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Grocery and retail site search, web and app | Not stated publicly | Not stated publicly | Not stated publicly | No |
| Bloomreach Clarity | Conversational layer on Bloomreach, website | Not stated publicly | Not stated publicly | Not stated publicly | No |
| Zoovu | Guided selling for complex products | 200+ languages; dialects not stated | Not stated publicly | Not stated publicly | No, quote-based |
| Alhena | Ecommerce sales and support | 90+ languages; Arabic not named | Channel listed; ordering not stated | Yes, phone and SIP | Yes, free to $999 a month |
| Rep AI | Shopify sales agent | Not stated publicly | Add-on channel; ordering not stated | Not stated publicly | Yes, from $12 a month |
| Yellow.ai | Enterprise customer service | Arabic; dialects not stated | Pickup orders, tracking, loyalty (Lulu) | Yes | Free tier; Enterprise by quote |
| Nateq | Gulf support inbox | Gulf, Egyptian, Levantine, Maghrebi, Franco | Product messages and payment links | Yes | Yes, from $15 a seat |
| Thikaa | Salla stores and small retailers | Five dialects and Arabizi | Orders with payment links | Yes, WhatsApp and phone | Yes, from $9.99 a month |
| ArabyBot | Small stores ordering on WhatsApp | Six, including Gulf | List orders confirmed in chat | Voice notes; calls not stated | Yes, from $10 a month |
| AskIt | Retail chains, website and in store | Arabic; no dialect claim | Not stated publicly | Voice channel listed | Not stated publicly |
| Hephon Commerce | Grocery ordering in app, WhatsApp and phone | Saudi, Gulf, Lebanese and Arabizi | Cards, basket, tap to confirm | Yes, keypad confirms | No, proposal per retailer |
| Custom build | Retailers with an in-house AI team | What you build and test | What you build | What you build | Cloud usage plus your team |
| Superchat | Shoppers (a personal assistant) | Not stated publicly | Shopper-side beta | Voice in the app | Yes, $9.99 a month (consumer) |
How we picked and what we checked
We picked the vendors that AI assistants and search results name when grocery and Gulf retailers ask for an AI shopping assistant, an Arabic shopping chatbot or WhatsApp ordering, and the global vendors that hold the AI shopping assistant category. Instacart, Mealz and SideChef were considered but left out, because we could not check enough public facts about their shopping assistants for this edition.
For each vendor we read its product pages, documentation, pricing page and llms.txt file, and launch coverage for Superchat and Grandiose's GrandChef, and checked the same 15 points for each, from Arabic dialects to pricing and data. Where a page did not say, we wrote "not stated publicly". Every fact links to its source on the vendor's comparison page.
Last checked on 5 November 2026. We make Hephon Commerce, so judge us by the tests, not by our place on the list. If a fact is wrong or out of date, write to hello@hephon.ai and we will fix it.
Questions about choosing an AI shopping assistant.
See it on your own catalog.
We set up a demo with your products, your branches and your shoppers' languages.
