Target's tech chief says AI isn't replacing workers as the company looks to mount a comeback

• Target is using AI throughout its organization to fuel its growth plans.
• The retailer's tech chief, Prat Vemana, says the tools aren't lowering his need for workers.
• "We can move faster, we can be bolder about it, we can experiment faster," he said.

AI is threatening corporate jobs worldwide, but Target says its tech workers can't be replaced with chatbots.

After the retailer unveiled an ambitious turnaround strategy at its Minneapolis headquarters this week, the company's tech chief, Prat Vemana, told Business Insider the scale of the task ahead will require all of his global workforce.

"I couldn't have asked for a better time for AI to show up, because now we have a need," he said. "We have a growth agenda ahead of us."

In addition to its corporate offices in Minnesota, Target has tech employees in New York, California, and Georgia, as well as a global capability center in Bangalore, India.

Target made some employee cuts at its headquarters last year and at regional teams last month to create more room to invest in store workers. But while large and small employers alike are citing AI to explain their shrinking tech teams, Vemana said he doesn't see Target doing the same.

"We have a really good system in place that is actually putting the right work in the right place, but also driving the changes that we need," he said.

"It's not location-specific — it's the culture that we are building," he added, referring to the adoption of AI throughout the enterprise among coders, data scientists, cybersecurity monitors, and more.

One area he said AI coding companions have been transformational in is overhauling Target's mobile app, which is existentially important to its business.

Not only does the app now have a slew of new features, but many existing elements needed to be rebuilt to meet the emerging demands of AI shopping companions.

"We've rewritten the entire app already — what would have taken years and years — in, like, 18 months," he said.

Two of CEO Michael Fiddelke's top priorities — reclaiming merchandising authority and improving the shopping experience — would also be difficult without significant support from tech and AI, especially given the timeline under discussion.

"We can move faster, we can be bolder about it, we can experiment faster, and we can get through the road map much, much faster with AI," Vemana said.