![\"Bunnings'](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ImageResizer.ashx.png\")
<\/p>\nBunnings\u2019 technology operations are \u201cincredibly underestimated\u201d, the hardware chain\u2019s boss says, with the retailer\u2019s recent courting by Google viewed internally as proof of its digital capability.<\/p>\n
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\n Image credit: Bunnings
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Speaking on the Boston Consulting Group\u2019s Business & Beyond podcast<\/a>, group managing director Mike Schneider called attention to the retailer\u2019s investments in data and digital, which culminated in the launch of an online marketplace<\/a> just before the onset of the pandemic.<\/p>\n \u201cBunnings on the tech side, I think we are incredibly underestimated in how good our technology is,\u201d Schneider said.<\/p>\n \u201cOur first CIO Leah Balter, who’s now a colleague of mine at Wesfarmers, and now CIO Gen [Genevieve] Elliott [are] both world class executives who have and continue to transform the organisation, to the point where partners like Google with the agentic Gemini commerce platform have looked to us to partner as one of the early adopters.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve gone from the kid that can’t run fast to the kid that’s actually in the elite sports team, and I think that’s actually deeply underestimated by many, many people.<\/p>\n “As is, I think, how different Bunnings is in 2026, because most of our experience with Bunnings is [as] the big green shed.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier this month, Bunnings unveiled Buddy, an \u201cAI\u2011powered agentic assistant using Google Cloud\u2019s Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience\u201d product.<\/p>\n \u201cAvailable on the Bunnings website initially, Buddy guides customers through projects, answers complex questions and helps customers find the products they need,\u201d the retailer said in a LinkedIn post.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt can read a photo of a handwritten list, find the items in seconds, and add them to a customer\u2019s online cart.\u201d<\/p>\n Buddy has been progressively introduced on the Bunnings Australia website and app and will be offered to customers in New Zealand \u201clater this year\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe launch forms part of Bunnings\u2019 accelerated use of data and AI to improve customer experiences, streamline work for teams and support long-term growth,\u201d Bunnings said.\u00a0<\/p>\n