JD Sports, one of the largest UK sports retailers, is reportedly launching an AI powered platform in the US.

With the move, shoppers will be able to browse and buy products straight through leading AI platforms such as Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, and ChatGPT.

Customers will be able to complete their purchases within the AI platform itself, using integrated checkout and payment systems.

When asking an AI assistant for trainers, clothing or accessories, the new system immediately display JD's catalogue.

According to a report by Reuters, the retailer is working with headless commerce platform Commercetools for the commerce backend and Stripe to secure payments, including its new Agentic Commerce Suite (ACS).

Stripe's ACS is a set of tools launched in 2025 that enables businesses to sell their products directly through AI agents.

The US represents a key market for JD Sports, accounting for 40 per cent of the retailer’s total global sales.

There, the company currently operates in over 2,500 stores under the JD, DTLR, Shoe Palace and Hibbett brands, as well as online.

JD Sports is set to expand the new AI service to the UK and Europe later in 2026.

In an interview reported by Reuters, Jetan Chowk, JD's chief technology and transformation officer said that AI will become a key access point for the retail sector and that the sports retailer intends to be at the forefront of this change.

"Today’s announcement is an important step into the next era of online shopping and positions JD to be ahead of the curve as the global retail industry embraces AI," he said.

He added: “What we are currently seeing is that customers are regularly using AI apps to research and discover the products they want to buy. We can see that already and want to ensure we are moving early to meet customers and their needs in that space.”

In October last year, The Frasers Group became the first European retailer to implement an agentic commerce suite in partnership with Commercetools that will allow customers to discover products and complete purchases directly within genAI chatbots, including ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity.

Frasers Group, which owns several well-known clothing retailers including Sports Direct, Flannels, and House of Fraser, said at the time the partnership represented a key part of its broader AI strategy to “reinvent” the customer journey across its brands.

In an interview at the time, David Clark, chief customer officer at Frasers Group, said the digital customer ecosystem is evolving “faster than ever”, in line with customer expectations.

JP Sports currently operates over 3,300 stores worldwide and employs more than 53,000 people, with the company reporting revenue in excess of £10.5 billion in 2024.

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