REI CEO balances AI discoverability with human expertise
REI is adapting to AI shopping agents to maintain brand visibility while leveraging in-store staff to provide authentic recommendations. The company views human connection as a key differentiator against digital competitors.
Mary Beth Lawton, CEO of REI, stated that the company is actively adapting to the rise of AI shopping agents and chatbots to ensure brand discoverability. Lawton noted that while AI bots hitting the site can be a cost and slow down performance, REI must embrace the technology to remain in the customer consideration set. The company is focusing on making its data and expertise capturable by these AI experiences while simultaneously driving traffic directly to REI.com, its app, and its 200 U.S. stores. Lawton compared this shift to the dot-com boom, arguing that brands that embraced new technology early were more successful. To differentiate from purely digital competitors, REI is leveraging its 'green vest' in-store employees, who are now creating video content for product pages to provide authentic, lived-experience recommendations that AI cannot replicate. The company also launched a partnership with AllTrails to offer members discounted access, reinforcing its focus on human connection and outdoor education. Lawton argued that embracing AI is a necessary cost of doing business to avoid being left behind, but that human expertise remains a critical differentiator that AI cannot replace.