Dick’s Sporting Goods wants its app to become more than a place to buy gear. It wants it to become your coach.
The retailer has announced the launch of “Coach by Dick’s,” a new agentic AI-powered adviser designed to offer personalized product recommendations, training tips, and sports guidance directly inside the Dick’s mobile app.
Built using Adobe Brand Concierge alongside Dick’s own internal expertise and content, the tool responds to user queries based on their goals, preferences, behaviors, sport, and skill level. Whether someone is training for a marathon, starting tennis for the first time, or looking for the right pair of cleats, the experience is designed to feel more like a conversation than a traditional shopping journey.
The rollout begins in June, with additional capabilities expected to arrive over time.
A bigger shift across retail
For Dick’s Sporting Goods, the move reflects a much bigger shift happening across retail: the evolution from transactional ecommerce toward AI-powered utility and guidance.
Instead of simply helping users find products faster, brands are increasingly trying to embed themselves deeper into customers’ lifestyles and decision-making processes. In this case, Dick’s is positioning itself less like a retailer and more like a sports companion.
“We designed Coach by Dick’s to meet athletes where they are on their sports journey,” said Vlad Rak, Chief Technology Officer at Dick’s Sporting Goods. “By bringing together the depth of our product knowledge, our understanding of sport, and what each athlete is trying to accomplish, we can respond in real time with guidance that’s relevant in the moment.”
The launch also aligns with Dick’s broader digital ambitions. Earlier this year, the company revealed plans to reshape its ecommerce business with a stronger focus on mobile experiences and growing market share online.
And the timing makes sense. The retailer is coming off a strong quarter, with Q1 net sales and comparable sales both rising 6% year-over-year. Dick’s also raised its full-year comparable sales guidance following the results.
More broadly, Coach by Dick’s is another sign that AI assistants are quickly becoming the next battleground for customer relationships. The question is no longer whether brands will use AI, but whether consumers will actually trust these tools enough to rely on them.
For retailers, the dream is obvious: if your AI becomes useful enough, your app stops being opened only when someone needs to buy something.