Booths, a high-end supermarket chain in northern England, has announced it is removing self-checkouts in the majority of its stores. The retailer said it was not a fan of the machines and prided itself on great customer service "and you can't do that through a robot". It is believed to be the first supermarket chain in the UK to return to fully-staffed tills, so the Guardian asked people for their views about self-checkouts. Here, four of them share their experiences of the machines and the effect they have on their supermarket shop. Self-checkouts are one of the things that rile me – if they're my only choice in a shop I feel really aggravated.

Instacart contracts hundreds of thousands of gig workers to fulfill customers' grocery orders, but the firm is working on replacing a number of human shoppers with robots in a bid to compete with Amazon's automated fulfillment service. The news, unearthed in company documents obtained by Bloomberg, states Instacart is eyeing automation as a way to cut costs for customers and help it form stronger relationships with supermarket chains. According to people familiar with the matter, the firm's strategy includes building an unknown number of automated fulfillment centers across the US, with some attached to existing grocery stores. Others would be standalone facilities that complete orders for several surrounding grocery stores. Robots would gather non-perishable goods, while human workers would collect produce and deli items in Instacart fulfilment centers.

Isn't that what we all would like to have every night? But somehow, grocery shopping remains a tedious and sometimes overwhelming task. Especially when you account for the varied preferences and dietary needs of those you're feeding. You make your way to the supermarket, written list in hand, strategizing about the most efficient route through the store to ensure you don't keep walking from one aisle to the other. After you've figured out the route you're going to take, you face the challenge of picking from a wide variety of sizes, brands, and prices of the products you need.

Autonomous grocery delivery buggies may roam U.S. neighborhoods if Kroger's pilot program works out. The largest American supermarket chain announced a partnership with Mountain View-based Nuro this week to test the concept of driverless home deliveries. The pilot will start this fall in an as-yet-unnamed market. Nuro applies robotics, artificial intelligence, and computer vision technology in partnership with local businesses looking for innovative ways to deliver goods that are cost effective for merchants and convenient for customers. "We are incredibly excited about the potential of our innovative partnership with Nuro to bring the future of grocery delivery to customers today," says Yael Cosset, Kroger's chief digital officer.

Lidl has introduced an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot to help improve the wine-buying experience for shoppers, as the food retailer continues its efforts to wrest market share away from the big four supermarket chains. Every conference this year contains a dead human genius reincarnated as software system or a robot. Yes, there is a lot of hype, but there is real worth in AI and Machine Learning. Read our counseling on how to avoid adopting "black box" approach. You forgot to provide an Email Address.