The holiday season is here and there are rafts of new associates manning registers and helping stores handle swarms of shoppers. But how are these associates finding their seasonal roles? Many retailers already use Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their recruiting systems for hiring the best and brightest seasonal help. Human resource tasks such as screening and hiring are more efficient and accurate thanks to the AI envisioned a few years ago and in operation today. Nevertheless, landing a good employee is only the first step in making this season a winning year for shopper loyalty, conversions, and same-store sales.

Artificial intelligence is touching almost every industry in the ongoing era of digital transformation. But what does it mean? Put simply, AI and machine learning -- a closely related idea -- are computer programs that emulate and learn human behavior to then make autonomous decisions. AI can be especially transformative in retail, helping almost every aspect of a retailer's business -- from utilizing data to drive sales, to automating the supply chain, or to hyper-personalize the customer experience. While AI can sound like some far-off idea, it's closer than you may think.

Artificial intelligence is touching almost every industry in the ongoing era of digital transformation. But what does it mean? Put simply, AI and machine learning -- a closely related idea -- are computer programs that emulate and learn human behavior to then make autonomous decisions. AI can be especially transformative in retail, helping almost every aspect of a retailer's business -- from utilizing data to drive sales, to automating the supply chain, or to hyper-personalize the customer experience. While AI can sound like some far-off idea, it's closer than you may think.