M&S has launched a new artificial intelligence (AI) wine finder tool to help customers select the best bottle of wine for them.

Available in 20 stores at point-of-sale marketing and online for over 500 stores, shoppers can now use the upmarket grocer’s new AI powered Wine Finder tool to pick the right bottle of wine.

The new technology asks customers a few quick questions about their personal preferences before offering tailored recommendations of wines available in the chosen store.

The tool is powered by food and drink AI discovery and recommendation software Preferabli, and marks the first time it is being integrated by a grocery retailer in the UK.

The innovation follows M&S’ research that found that nearly a quarter of shoppers spend more than 10 minutes deliberating in the wine aisle.

Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free

Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning

It is also supported by the M&S Food digital catalogue, which provides customers with live stock information across its more than 1,000 stores.

Available through the M&S app, customers can use the digital catalogue to more easily plan their shop, as the retailer aims to pivot to become more of a shopping list retailer. Customers can see what’s in stock at their local store and add items to a digital shopping list.

Wine Finder can access this catalogue to make personalised recommendations which are stocked in the relevant store for customers.

M&S Food head of beers, wine and spirits Caroline Thompson-Hill said: “We know wine can be a difficult category to shop and it’s important that we find new ways to support our customers when shopping our incredible range in store.

“By utilising AI, the Wine Finder tool helps encourage customers to try different regions, grapes and bottles they’ve not considered before. By suggesting wines to try, we’ll help customers make decisions in stores and hopefully find some new favourites.”

It is not the first time the high street retailer has experimented with AI. Earlier this month, it rolled out its lower carbon parsnips that have been grown autonomously, marking the first project to be funded by its Plan A Accelerator Fund.