NRF joins PACT AI to shape standards for retail AI

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation has joined the newly established Partnership for Assurance, Credibility, and Trust on AI as a founding member, giving the retail industry a role in developing standards and policies for the responsible use of artificial intelligence.

Known as PACT AI, the coalition brings together businesses, independent technical experts, AI insurers and civil society organizations to develop infrastructure to verify that AI systems are safe, secure and functioning as intended.

For NRF, the initiative comes as retailers increasingly deploy AI across customer-facing and internal operations. The association said its participation will give retailers a voice as AI assurance standards and best practices take shape.

“Retailers are at the forefront of adopting AI to better serve their customers, support their employees and strengthen their businesses,” said Caroline Reppert, vice president of AI and technology policy at NRF. “This partnership will give NRF members a meaningful voice in the development of standards and best practices that help businesses deploy AI responsibly and at scale.”

PACT AI’s work is organized into three areas: policy development and advocacy, professionalizing the AI assurance sector, and expanding the market for AI assurance.

The coalition aims to establish common approaches for evaluating AI systems as businesses adopt the technology more broadly and policymakers consider how to govern it.

“Retailers have always put their customers at the center of how they innovate, and AI is creating new opportunities to make those experiences even better,” said Bri Treece, executive director of PACT AI. “AI assurance helps ensure those technologies work as intended and deliver for the customers and employees who rely on them.”

Treece said bringing NRF and the broader retail industry into the coalition could help develop an AI assurance framework that works for retailers of different sizes.