Coach by DICK’S Brings a Human-Like Guide Into the Shopping App
DICK’S Sporting Goods has introduced Coach by DICK’S, an agentic AI coach woven directly into its mobile app to guide athletes through their sports journeys. Instead of a basic search bar, app users can now hold natural-language conversations to get tailored recommendations, training guidance, and product education based on their sport, goals, and preferences. The company describes the experience as an extension of the expert advice traditionally found in its stores, now scaled digitally for always-on access. Built with Adobe’s Brand Concierge technology and DICK’S proprietary sport knowledge, the AI coach is designed to adapt in real time as athletes share information and interact. As the rollout begins in June, DICK’S plans to expand capabilities over time, turning the app into more than a shopping destination—into a personalized coaching and decision-support hub for athletes at every level.
From Search Boxes to Agentic AI Shopping Experiences
Coach by DICK’S reflects a broader transition in retail from static search tools to agentic AI shopping systems that behave more like active partners than passive interfaces. Rather than simply returning product lists, agentic AI coordinates multi-step interactions: clarifying an athlete’s sport, surfacing relevant gear, explaining trade-offs, and presenting training “Pro Tips” in context. It can handle follow-up questions, remember prior input within a conversation, and adapt recommendations as a shopper refines their needs. This approach aligns with industry efforts to build conversational AI retail experiences that combine first-party data, rich product catalogs, and behavioral signals to personalize journeys. As retailers test these systems across categories—from sporting goods to grocery and apparel—the goal is to move beyond one-off transactions and create guided, confidence-building paths from product discovery through purchase, all inside a familiar mobile app interface.
Why AI Coach Retail Apps Boost Engagement and Conversion
Embedding a mobile app AI assistant directly in the shopping experience allows retailers to tackle a key friction point: decision overload. Athletes buying equipment must weigh performance needs, fit, skill level, and budget, often without expert help. A conversational AI retail assistant can narrow choices quickly while educating users—explaining why a certain shoe suits distance running or which bat matches a player’s age and league rules. DICK’S positions its coach as a way to “meet athletes where they are,” integrating deep product knowledge with real-time, situational guidance. By providing confidence in each recommendation, these AI coach retail apps aim to increase product discovery, reduce returns, and encourage repeat use of the app as a trusted advisor. Over time, consistent, personalized interactions can deepen loyalty, as the assistant learns individual preferences and delivers increasingly relevant suggestions.
Conversational AI Retail Goes Omnichannel and Operational
The launch of Coach by DICK’S also builds on the retailer’s broader AI and automation strategy, which includes investments in inventory management and omni-channel systems. Across the industry, conversational AI retail tools are being connected to back-end operations such as inventory visibility, merchandising, and customer profiles. Adobe’s Brand Concierge platform, used for Coach by DICK’S, is designed to be trained on approved brand content and customer data, ensuring the assistant reflects the retailer’s specific expertise rather than generic web information. As more retailers integrate these systems, AI assistants are evolving into operational hubs that link shopping guidance with real-time stock data, service offerings, and fulfillment options. This convergence points toward agentic AI shopping experiences that can eventually coordinate full journeys—research, selection, and purchase—while maintaining the tone and trust of an expert human associate inside the app.