The Very Group has announced a three-year partnership with UiPath to modernize its retail pricing strategy using agentic AI, marking another significant step in the adoption of autonomous AI across the retail industry. The initiative aims to enhance pricing decisions by combining AI-driven automation with human oversight, enabling the retailer to respond more quickly to changing market conditions and customer demand.
AI-Powered Pricing for a Dynamic Retail Market
Retail pricing has become increasingly complex as businesses balance consumer expectations, competitor activity, inventory levels, promotions, and profitability. Traditional pricing processes often rely on manual analysis and periodic updates, making it difficult to react in real time.
Through its collaboration with UiPath, The Very Group plans to deploy an agentic AI-powered pricing solution capable of analyzing large volumes of business data, generating pricing recommendations, and supporting commercial teams with faster, more informed decision-making.
Moving Beyond Traditional Automation
Unlike conventional automation, agentic AI systems can evaluate multiple business variables, recommend actions, and continuously adapt to changing market conditions while operating within predefined business rules.
The new pricing platform is designed to help The Very Group:
- Improve pricing accuracy
- Respond faster to competitor price changes
- Optimize promotional strategies
- Balance revenue growth with profitability
- Reduce manual pricing workloads
Rather than replacing pricing specialists, the AI agents will augment decision-making by providing real-time insights and recommendations.
Human Oversight Remains Central
A key aspect of the initiative is maintaining human control over pricing decisions.
The AI agents are intended to support commercial teams by automating data analysis and surfacing recommendations, while final strategic decisions remain with pricing professionals. This human-in-the-loop approach helps organizations accelerate operations without compromising governance or accountability.
Retail’s Growing Investment in Agentic AI
The Very Group’s announcement reflects a broader trend across the retail sector, where organizations are moving beyond chatbots and predictive analytics toward autonomous AI systems capable of executing complex operational workflows.
Retailers are increasingly exploring agentic AI for:
- Dynamic pricing
- Inventory optimization
- Demand forecasting
- Supply chain planning
- Customer service automation
- Personalized promotions
As these systems mature, AI agents are becoming active participants in day-to-day retail operations rather than simply providing analytical insights.
Why Pricing Is an Ideal Use Case
Pricing decisions require balancing multiple variables simultaneously, including customer demand, competitor actions, inventory availability, seasonality, and business objectives.
Agentic AI can process these inputs continuously, enabling retailers to make faster and more data-driven pricing decisions while reducing the time spent on manual analysis. By automating repetitive tasks and surfacing actionable recommendations, retailers can improve agility in increasingly competitive markets.
The Bigger Picture
The Very Group’s adoption of agentic AI demonstrates how autonomous AI is moving from experimental pilots into core business functions. Pricing, once managed primarily through manual processes and traditional analytics, is becoming an area where AI agents can continuously monitor data, recommend actions, and support real-time business decisions.
As retailers seek greater operational efficiency and faster responses to market changes, agentic AI is emerging as a strategic capability that extends well beyond automation. Organizations that successfully combine AI-driven intelligence with strong governance and human oversight are likely to gain a competitive advantage in an increasingly dynamic retail landscape.
