Calgary Co-op is not a typical grocery retailer. As a member-owned cooperative, it serves more than 450,000 member-owners across Calgary and surrounding Alberta communities, and it has built its reputation around quality products, knowledgeable teams, local connection, and service that feels personal. Its member-owners share in the value the co-operative creates.
That distinction matters at the deli counter. A great recommendation can turn an uncertain purchase into a memorable gathering. It can introduce someone to a local producer, help them work within a budget, accommodate a dietary need, or give them the confidence to try something new. For Calgary Co-op, that kind of expertise is part of the experience.
A great charcuterie board is deceptively hard to build. How much is enough for eight guests? Which cheeses work with a bold salami? What if someone is vegetarian, lactose-free, or simply does not know where to begin?
At Calgary Co-op, member-owners can now get an answer in a few minutes. Cicero Kiosk asks about the occasion, budget, dietary needs and flavor preferences, then creates a personalized, custom priced board and shopping list using Calgary Co-op’s product and pairing guidance.
It is a useful bit of in-store help that improves customer experience (CX). But that is only part of the story.
The same experience is also becoming a quiet learning tool for deli teams. Newer and seasonal associates can see how recommendations are assembled, use the output as a reference for pairings and portioning, and build confidence as they help customers. The technology is not there to replace the people behind the counter. It is there to help more people benefit from their expertise.
For CGS Immersive, that is what makes the partnership so exciting. Calgary Co-op brought more than a business challenge to the table; it brought a clear point of view. The team asked how technology could strengthen member service, preserve the craft behind the counter and help frontline people build capability over time. Together, Calgary Co-op and CGS Immersive turned that question into an shopper experience that is practical, warm and built for the reality of a busy grocery store.
That approach has earned Calgary Co-op and CGS Immersive a Gold Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Award in the 2026 Future of Work Awards, in the category Best Use of AI for Business Impact. The award recognizes “Scaling Human Craft with AI: Calgary Co-op,” powered by CGS Immersive’s Cicero Kiosk.
AI can personalize recommendations in seconds and offer solutions to customers who either don’t wish to speak to a live person, or when nobody is available to answer questions, but it can’t replace the knowledge, skill and craft behind great cheese. Where tech meets tradition, moving forward into the future, we need both.
About the HCM Excellence Awards
Brandon Hall Group’s HCM Excellence Awards are among the longest-running and most established awards in the people, learning and workforce space. Gold is the program’s highest recognition level.
Submissions are reviewed by independent senior industry experts, analysts and executives against a published set of criteria. For Best Use of AI for Business Impact, the judges look for a responsible and relevant use of AI, a scalable and well-designed solution, a clear demonstration of how it works, measurable benefits and evidence of overall impact.
The work has to hold up when judges ask: Does it solve a real problem? Can people use it? Does it create value? And what changes because of it?
For Calgary Co-op and CGS Immersive, the answer begins with a familiar retail challenge: making specialized knowledge consistently available when customers need it, while helping frontline teams learn and thrive in a high-turnover environment.
When a shopping list becomes a learning loop
The Cicero Kiosk concierge was developed to make a complex deli decision feel simple. A member can build a board around a guest count, budget and dietary preferences and walk away with an itemized list that makes the next step clear.
For deli associates, that same list can become a useful piece of just-in-time learning. It turns pairing logic, product knowledge and portioning guidance into something visible and practical, right in the flow of a busy shift. Seasoned staff still bring the nuance: the personal recommendation, the substitution, the story behind a local product, the instinct that makes a customer feel well looked after.
Early results show what can happen when customers are given the confidence to explore, and teams have the tools to make expert guidance more available.
A collaboration built around the human part
The award recognizes a shared effort: Calgary Co-op’s clear member-first vision and deep deli expertise, brought together with CGS Immersive’s Cicero platform and AI guidance capabilities.
It also recognizes the people who made the innovation real—Sandra Power, the Calgary Co-op deli team and the wider teams at Calgary Co-op and CGS Immersive.
See what Cicero can do
Cicero helps organizations turn expert knowledge into practical, in-the-moment guidance for customers and frontline teams. If you are exploring how AI can improve confidence, associate capability, and retail CX, without losing the human touch, we would love to talk.
Related links: Brandon Hall Group 2026 award winners | Brandon Hall Group’s award announcement
