Marks & Spencer is aiming to beef up customer service and accelerate its wider digital transformation by handing out thousands of generative AI and agentic AI tools to store managers and support centre staff.
The move has seen the retailer invest in 11,000 Microsoft 365 Copilot licences, alongside a training programme designed to help staff make full use of the technology.
M&S said store managers will now be able to access data, analysis and key trading insights more quickly, freeing 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 is currently executing a major “digital first” transformation strategy, which was significantly accelerated following a its cyberattack in early 2025. The company’s goal is to reshape itself into an agile, data-driven retailer where digital capabilities are at the heart of both customer experience and internal operations.
Chief executive Stuart Machin 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.”
Last year, M&S revealed it was investing over £200m in a tech upgrade to put the Sparks loyalty scheme at the core of its operations, after admitting that, despite running the scheme for a decade, that its customer data was not poweful enough.
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