Smarter at the Shelf: How AI Agents Are Powering CPG Agility

A conversation with Ali Moosani, the CEO of FORM, on how artificial intelligence is transforming the consumer packaged goods business. 

Over the past couple of years, artificial intelligence (AI) has become an integral tool in consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies’ toolboxes—one that can provide a clear competitive edge in a volatile retail environment. Indeed, a 2024 McKinsey & Company survey of CPG leaders showed that 71 percent had adopted AI in at last one part of their business, demonstrating that the evolution of AI is shifting how brands manage operations, engage customers, and execute strategy in real time. 

As the CEO of FORM, which provides mobile software solutions for teams in the field, Ali Moosani is on the frontlines of AI integration into the CPG space. We sat down with Moosani to discuss how AI is driving swift decision-making, how augmented reality can be used in retail environments, and why AI agents may become field teams’ best friends.

First things first: Can you give us a 35,000-foot view of how AI is changing the consumer packaged goods business?

CPG companies have traditionally been reliant on manual audits, retrospective data, and generalized marketing tactics. That’s changed significantly: These businesses are now using AI in forecasting, personalizing promotions, streamlining shelf monitoring, and optimizing supply chains. Technologies like augmented reality (AR) and AI agents allow brands to quickly gain more accurate insights than they have even in the recent past. AI is not only improving efficiency, but it’s also transforming field teams into real-time decision-makers.

Explain how AR and image-recognition technology helps brand teams when they’re in the field.

These technologies can spot an issue, ID the affected products, and allow a team, while they’re on-site, to make informed, immediate decisions. So, for example, say you have subpar shelf conditions at a retailer. AR lets field team members use their device’s camera to view shelves with real-time data layered on top—highlighting things like missing products, pricing issues, or layout problems. It’s a fast, functional way to turn unstructured shelf conditions into actionable insights, which gives teams a new level of responsiveness at retail.

On top of that, field teams are starting to employ AI agents embedded in the software brands are using at retail, correct?

That’s right. AI has the potential to boost productivity, especially for frontline reps who often operate with limited information while trying to optimize shelf conditions under time and resource constraints. By using mobile software with embedded AI agents, reps can get real-time insights and guided decision-making that can streamline their tasks. Instead of relying on spreadsheets, which may be out of date, or static planograms, they can ask the AI agent specific questions and receive clear, data-driven answers instantly.

In April, FORM announced it would be integrating an AI agent into its GoSpotCheck mobile software. How does the AI agent work?

GoSpotCheck already allowed field reps to gather shelf data using image recognition—for example, detecting things like out-of-stocks, pricing discrepancies, and planogram compliance. Now, GoSpotCheck, when paired with Salesforce Consumer Goods Cloud, pushes this further by not just analyzing, but also prescribing actions—instantly, at the shelf. The AI agent can tell teams what to do next, like offering a discount based on the shelf presence. The bottom line is that the AI agent helps field reps make faster, smarter decisions on the spot.

What do you say to those who are concerned that AI agents will replace workers in the field?

Field teams aren’t going anywhere. Things like AR and AI agents aren’t replacements for people; they free field reps up from tedious tasks like documentation and audits and allow them to focus on building relationships and executing strategy. AI augments human abilities and drives growth. It doesn’t replace them.