Marks & Spencer is equipping 11,000 colleagues with generative AI and agentic AI tools as it looks to double down on customer service and accelerate its wider digital transformation.

The retailer has purchased 11,000 Microsoft 365 Copilot licences, which will be made available to every store manager and support centre colleague, alongside a training programme designed to help staff make full use of the technology.

M&S said the tools will help colleagues complete time-consuming day-to-day tasks more efficiently, including compiling sales insights, summarising meeting notes, creating shift rotas and preparing handovers.

The move means store managers will be able to access data, analysis and key trading insights more quickly, with M&S positioning the rollout as a way to free up more time for customer-facing activity, improving availability and supporting shop floor teams.

In its stores support centre, M&S said Microsoft 365 Copilot will also be used to draft meeting updates and trading summaries, while helping turn complex reporting into clearer recommendations and actions.

M&S chief executive Stuart Machin said the wider use of AI would play a central role in the retailer’s ongoing transformation.

He said: “We’re already embedding AI across M&S – supporting stock forecasting and ordering, generating marketing materials, and powering a colleague help hub with AI agents.

“Now 11,000 colleagues will have AI support at their fingertips, pulling together summaries from multiple sources and giving them the data, analytics and insights they need in seconds.

“As we reshape M&S for growth, scaling the use of AI is central to our technology transformation and today’s announcement is just one of the steps forward on that journey.”

M&S said its partnership with Microsoft would support the use of AI at scale across the business, as the retailer continues to modernise its operations through technology and digital investment.

Nicole Ritchie, store manager at M&S Clapham Common, said the technology was already proving useful in streamlining daily workloads.

She said: “I already love using AI in my daily tasks. Every morning I ask Copilot to pull together my morning huddle and shift handover notes.

“I can’t wait to see how Microsoft 365 Copilot will take this to the next level, using data and information from different sources to focus on clear actions and talking points, all ready for me to share with my team.

“This will free up more time to spend with my team serving our customers.”

Microsoft UK and Ireland chief executive Darren Hardman said the rollout showed how retailers were increasingly using AI tools to support frontline decision-making and improve customer service.

He said: “It’s great to see M&S driving AI-powered transformation of the retail sector.

“By putting Copilot into the hands of the people closest to its customers, M&S is turning store data into clear actions and insights, enabling teams to spend more time delivering exceptional service to customers on the shop floor.”

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