The Home Depot has announced an overhaul of its customer service infrastructure, deploying a new AI-powered voice agent system across its U.S. stores.
Built on Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience, the system aims to eliminate traditional, multi-layered phone menus in favor of natural language processing.
The retailer is utilizing the latest Gemini conversational AI audio models to allow customers to explain their needs in their own words. The system is designed to provide project assistance, answer specific queries in multiple languages, and offer a seamless transition to a human associate when necessary.
Trained on The Home Depot’s vast product catalog and orange-aproned knowledge, the system can:
- Get answers without the wait: The AI voice agents are empowered to resolve common customer inquiries from start to finish, such as checking order status, confirming product availability, or providing store information, freeing up knowledgeable Home Depot associates to handle more complex issues.
- Take direct action to save time: The system moves beyond simply providing information to acting on behalf of customers. For example, AI agents can initiate service requests, send a product link directly to a customer’s pre-filled cart, and even help customers complete a purchase in minutes right from their phones.
- Turn project ideas into ready-to-buy carts: Customers will be able to simply describe their projects in their own words, and the AI voice agent will start building a digital shopping cart with all the necessary items based on real-time online or in-store inventory.
Early data from a 50-store pilot program indicates that the AI voice agents can identify a customer’s intent within 10 seconds. According to the company, this results in customers reaching a solution four times faster than through traditional Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems. Beyond customer efficiency, the pilot also noted an increase in job satisfaction among store associates, who were able to dedicate more time to assisting in-store shoppers.
Jordan Broggi, executive vice president of customer experience and president of online at The Home Depot, said:
“Nobody likes getting trapped in a phone menu. When a customer calls us, they just want to get help as quickly as possible. Using customer service AI voice agents, we’re moving away from ‘please listen to these options’ and toward ‘how can I help?’ AI does a tremendous job at recognizing customer intent and taking direct action to help complete a purchase or even start a service request. And of course, if they need to speak with an associate, we’ll quickly connect them.”
The integration represents a move toward more agentic AI applications in the retail sector, where the technology moves beyond simple call routing to active problem-solving.
Darshan Kantak, vice president, Applied AI, Google Cloud, said:
“The Home Depot is a prime example of how retailers and large enterprises can use AI to move beyond automation and deliver real customer value at scale. By integrating Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience capabilities, The Home Depot isn’t just directing traffic or routing calls—it is instantly understanding a customer’s true intent and applying the reasoning of an expert associate to find solutions.”
The Home Depot plans to roll out the AI-driven phone system to all U.S. locations throughout the coming year.