Target-owned Shipt introduced an artificial intelligence tool Tuesday that lets customers build shopping carts by uploading photos of meals or typing descriptions of what they need.

The feature, called Ask Shipt, is now live on the company's app and website. Users can photograph a dish spotted on social media or at a restaurant, and the system identifies the ingredients and adds them to a cart. The tool also handles text requests such as "Create a cart for my Saturday tailgate for 25 people" or "Build a cart for easy school lunches."

The assistant works with more than 100 retailers in Shipt's marketplace. Customers can review, modify or remove any suggested items before completing a purchase, giving them a layer of control over the AI's recommendations.

"Ask Shipt brings people-centric AI directly into the shopping journey, helping members move from inspiration to a personalized cart in moments," said Katie Stratton, chief growth and strategy officer at Shipt.

The feature can search for items within specific budgets and surface current sales or promotions at selected stores. Users access Ask Shipt by selecting a retailer and clicking on the feature below the search bar.

The launch extends a run of technology investments by Shipt in recent months. The service has integrated with ChatGPT and Claude, and it offers pre-curated product collections called Shipt Kits.

More collaborative tools are coming. The company plans to release Shared Lists later this year, allowing multiple users to collaborate on a single shopping list in real time.

Smrutha Ipparthi, chief technology and product officer at Shipt, said the company aims to reduce the time shoppers spend managing their tasks through automation and collaborative tools.

Shipt is offering $10 off orders placed with the code ASKSHIPT2026 through Sept. 30, a discount that gives the company a direct way to drive trial of the new capability during its opening weeks.