Gap, Dollar General, Ulta Beauty and Kohl's described wider AI plans on their second-quarter earnings calls. The tools named include chatbots, forecasting models and systems that act on their own. Ulta says it is early in applying AI to corporate work, and sees room to scale it later. Ulta is also using AI sourcing to balance stock across stores and online. It is enriching product information so items surface on platforms such as ChatGPT. Kohl's says its shopping assistant is lifting conversion and revenue per visit. Dollar General says it is building agent-based systems for company-wide workflows. Bain partner Aaron Cheris says few retailers aim to be AI-first, and most overhaul one area. He says boards and investors now expect an AI answer from every retailer. Retail Dive drew the comments from the calls and an interview.

• Gap capex about $650M this year
• Dollar General net sales up 5.2%
• Dollar General quarterly sales $11.3B