Just a couple days ago, we heard about home improvement giant Home Depot (HD) planning a new foray into artificial intelligence (AI)-powered shopping. But it turns out that was not the only plan Home Depot had for AI. It turned to Rilla as well to bring in AI-powered coaching tools and improve the customer experience. The news was oddly difficult for investors to swallow, as shares dipped fractionally in Wednesday morning’s trading.
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Rilla is known for being a major player in field team performance, and Home Depot will soon put these tools to work for its own service and sales operations. With Rilla, Home Depot will better be able to develop internal sales teams with training options in communications as well as service delivery, reports note.
Rilla’s tools, as it turns out, are already in wide demand from home services and retail brands who are looking for ways to narrow the gap between what an employee actually does and how well it aligns with best practices. This helps improve overall team performance, and helps ensure the same level of professionalism at all times.
A Growing AI Trend
This news comes on the heels of Home Depot’s plan to get together with Alphabet (GOOGL), using its Google Cloud system to offer new agentic AI tools for both do-it-yourselfers and outright professionals.
One major augmentation, reports note, is to the Magic Apron assistant. This product list builder makes it easier for those about to engage in a certain project to order the things they are most likely to need to get the project done. With Google Cloud’s Gemini models, along with the Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience system, the end result is a set of tools that are available wherever the customer is, and whenever the customer is ready to buy.
Is Home Depot a Good Long-Term Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on HD stock based on 17 Buys, five Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 6.49% loss in its share price over the past year, the average HD price target of $401.47 per share implies 6.12% upside potential.
