Sainsbury's adds AI shopping lists to a single app for online and in-store grocery shopping

Sainsbury's wants to be the place where the weekly shop gets planned, not only where it gets paid for. On 7 October 2026, the grocer announced SmartLists, an AI-powered feature in the Sainsbury's app that builds a shopping list from a short typed request or a photo.

What it does

Shoppers no longer have to type in items one by one. Sainsbury's says a list can start from a request such as "ingredients for spaghetti bolognese" or from a photo of a handwritten list. The app then matches the list to real Sainsbury's products, showing Nectar Prices "so customers can see their options and get the best value for their budgets."

From there, the list works in both channels. Items can go straight into the online trolley, and a built-in Product Finder helps shoppers find them in store.

SmartLists comes as part of a redesigned app. Sainsbury's says the app brings together "online grocery orders, ChopChop, SmartLists, In-store SmartShop and enhanced Nectar experiences in one place" for the first time.

Ben Edge, Director of Product at Sainsbury's, said: "We know our customers are busy and want shopping to feel simple, joyful and easy to fit around their lives. SmartLists is designed to take the effort out of creating and buying a shopping list, whether customers are typing, speaking or taking a picture of what they need."

Why the list matters

The real change here is the merged app as much as the AI. Sainsbury's has run online ordering, its ChopChop rapid delivery service, SmartShop scan-as-you-go and Nectar as separate experiences. Putting them in one place gives it a single starting point for the shop, whichever way the customer then buys.

That starting point carries commercial weight. When the app turns "bolognese" into a basket, it chooses the brands, pack sizes and price points the shopper sees first. Showing Nectar Prices at that stage also ties the list to the loyalty scheme, which gives Sainsbury's more reason to get customers signed in before they reach the shelf or the checkout.

What would prove it works

Sainsbury's gave no figures on usage, adoption, basket size or conversion. So far, this is a product launch, not a measured result. The questions worth asking are practical ones. Do shoppers come back to SmartLists week after week, or try it once? Do lists built by the AI turn into full baskets more often than lists typed by hand? And does Product Finder make store trips quicker in a way the customer actually notices?

There is also a fair concern on the other side. A list that swaps a shopper's usual brand for whatever the system matches could annoy loyal customers rather than help them. How well the product matching works, and how easy it is to correct, will probably decide whether SmartLists becomes a habit or a novelty. For other grocers, the lesson is that the fight for the basket now starts before the shopper has chosen a channel.