How Google helped Levi’s turn employee’s hackathon idea into AI tool that helps shoppers – The Times of India

Google has reportedly helped Levi Strauss & Co. develop an artificial intelligence (AI) tool for store associates. The idea for the tool came about after an employee presented it during a hackathon at the denim company, according to a report. The tool helps retail staff answer customer questions and access product or operational information during in-store interactions. It was created with support from Google Cloud and based on Gemini’s large language models.According to a Fortune report, the AI system, called STITCH, allows employees to ask natural-language questions about Levi’s products, store procedures, and order processing. The project moved from concept to a limited pilot in late 2025 and has since been expanded to more than 70 Levi’s stores in the US, the report notes.The idea originated during an internal hackathon where an employee proposed combining information about Levi’s products, operational guidelines and training materials into a single AI-powered…