Verified
Nike
Experimenting- Footwear and apparel
- ~73,000 employees
- NikeAI in the Nike App
- Checkout in Google Gemini
- No AI return reported
Nike deploys AI mainly where consumers shop: NikeAI, a conversational search assistant in the Nike App for U.S. iOS users since Jul 2025, a running shoe finder inside ChatGPT, and checkout of Nike products in Google's Gemini app and AI Mode, announced in May 2026. Nike has also used generative AI to create footwear concepts since 2024. COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy has run technology since Nike eliminated its CTO role in Dec 2025, and Nike reports no return from AI.
about.nike.comTheir approach to AI
- The platform
- Nike has not described an enterprise AI platform. Nike's consumer AI runs in the Nike App, where its technology team built NikeAI on foundation models fine-tuned by Nike's domain experts (Jul 2025), and in third-party assistants: Google's Gemini app and AI Mode in Search for checkout (May 2026) and OpenAI's ChatGPT for a running shoe finder.
- The models
- Nike has not named the foundation models behind NikeAI. Google's Gemini carries Nike's agentic checkout, ChatGPT hosts Nike's running shoe finder, and Naver's HyperCLOVA X powered a Nike ad chat in South Korea (Jan 2024); Nike's then chief innovation officer said in May 2024 that Nike uses the public LLMs and was building its own model on athlete data.
- The reach
- Nike opened the NikeAI beta to all U.S. iOS users of the Nike App in Jul 2025. Nike has not said how many of its about 73,000 employees use AI tools; an internal learning platform logged 20,000 digital courses and 3,000 live sessions in its first year (Jun 2026).
- The catch
- Nike has reported no revenue, cost or headcount return from AI, its executives did not discuss AI on the 5 earnings calls from Sep 2025 to Oct 2026, and Nike has named no head of AI publicly since its VP of AI left in Jul 2025 and its CTO role was eliminated in Dec 2025.
Snapshot
- Employees
- ~73,000
- May 31, 2026, including retail and part-time employees (Form 10-K)
- Technology budget
- Not disclosed
- Capital expenditures of $684M in fiscal 2026, on revenues of $46.4B (Form 10-K)
- AI/ML headcount
- Not disclosed
- Technology work concentrated at the Beaverton campus and the Nike India Technology Center (Apr 2026)
- Who owns AI
- Venkatesh Alagirisamy
- EVP and COO, leading Technology since Dec 8, 2025; no named head of AI
- Platform
- No enterprise AI platform disclosed
- NikeAI in the Nike App; checkout in Google Gemini; shoe finder in ChatGPT
- Models
- Not named
- NikeAI built on foundation models fine-tuned by Nike's domain experts (Jul 2025)
- Reach
- U.S. iOS Nike App users
- NikeAI beta since Jul 2025; no count of employees using AI
- Use cases
- Shopping assistants, AI channels, design
- NikeAI, Gemini checkout, ChatGPT shoe finder, generative footwear concepts, factory inspection pilot
Key findings
Nike has reported no revenue, cost or headcount return it credits to AI, and its executives did not discuss AI on any of the 5 earnings calls from Sep 30, 2025 to Oct 1, 2026; the about $2.5 billion of savings Nike expects from its Pace program through fiscal 2031 (Oct 2026) is not tied to AI.
Nike's technology team launched NikeAI, a conversational shopping assistant built on foundation models fine-tuned by Nike's domain experts, to all U.S. iOS users of the Nike App in Jul 2025, and Nike said on May 19, 2026 that U.S. consumers would be able to buy Nike products in Google's Gemini app and AI Mode in Search from early Jun 2026.
Nike eliminated its EVP and Chief Technology Officer role in Dec 2025 and put Technology under Venkatesh Alagirisamy, named EVP and Chief Operating Officer from Dec 8, 2025, months after Jason Loveland, its vice president of AI, left in Jul 2025.
Nike cut about 1,400 Global Operations roles in Apr 2026, the majority in Technology, concentrated technology work at its Beaverton campus and the Nike India Technology Center, and said it would use more advanced automation, after cutting 775 mainly distribution roles in Jan 2026; Nike credited neither round to AI.
Venkatesh Alagirisamy told a Fortune COO Summit panel on Jun 1, 2026 that the biggest AI challenge he saw was speed without clarity, and said a peer-curated internal learning platform Nike launched a year earlier had logged 20,000 digital courses and 3,000 live sessions.
Where Nike sits
- Stage
- Experimenting
Nike sits in Experimenting because it has reported no business return it credits to AI in the 18 months to Nov 2026: its executives did not discuss AI on the earnings calls of Sep 30 and Dec 18, 2025 or Mar 31, Jun 30 and Oct 1, 2026, and the savings Nike does report, about $2.5 billion expected from its Pace program through fiscal 2031, and the job cuts in distribution (Jan 2026) and technology (Apr 2026) are tied to supply chain changes, restructuring and automation, never to AI. Nike has not reported a company-wide AI rollout with a user count either: COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy, who has overseen technology since Dec 8, 2025, said an internal learning platform logged 20,000 digital courses in its first year (Jun 2026), a training count, not a count of employees using AI. Nike's AI work on the record since May 2025, NikeAI in the Nike App (Jul 2025), a running shoe finder in ChatGPT and agentic checkout in Google's Gemini app and AI Mode (May 2026), keeps it on the map. Nike would reach Piloting with one revenue, cost or headcount figure it credits to AI, or an official count of employees using its AI tools with a named owner.
How the stages are defined - Ownership
- COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy, who leads Technology and reports to the CEO; no named head of AI
- Platform
- Hybrid: NikeAI built in-house on unnamed foundation models; Gemini and ChatGPT as channels
- Models
- Unnamed foundation models for NikeAI; Google Gemini and OpenAI ChatGPT as channels
- Hosting
- Not disclosed for NikeAI; Google hosts Gemini checkout, OpenAI hosts the ChatGPT app
- Reach
- U.S. iOS users of the Nike App (NikeAI beta, Jul 2025); no employee count
How they deploy
AI where consumers shop
Nike's most visible AI is in shopping. Muge Erdirik Dogan, then EVP and Chief Technology Officer, said in Jul 2025 that Nike's technology team built NikeAI for the Nike App to understand shopping intent, as consumers shift from keyword search to describing a goal such as running a 5k. Nike said on May 19, 2026 that it would add multi-item checkout on Google's Universal Commerce Protocol so U.S. consumers can buy Nike products in Google's Gemini app and AI Mode in Search, while Nike keeps the consumer relationship, and Nike also offers a running shoe finder inside OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Technology folded into operations
Elliott Hill eliminated Nike's EVP and Chief Technology Officer role in Dec 2025 and put Technology under Venkatesh Alagirisamy, the new EVP and Chief Operating Officer, so that technology is integrated into how Nike creates, plans, makes, delivers and sells products. Alagirisamy's 4 operations priorities for 2026 are optimizing the supply chain footprint, accelerating technology deployment, upskilling teams and strengthening supplier relationships, and his Apr 23, 2026 memo concentrated Nike's technology organization in 2 hubs, the Philip H. Knight Campus and the Nike India Technology Center, with more use of advanced automation.
Generative AI in product creation
Nike used generative AI to produce hundreds of images per athlete for its Athlete Imagined Revolution (A.I.R.) footwear prototypes, shown in Paris in Apr 2024, and its then chief innovation officer John Hoke said in May 2024 that Nike was building its own model on exclusive athlete performance data. Jason Loveland, Nike's vice president of AI until Jul 2025, called that work the first fine-tuned generative AI model to design Nike products. Nike job postings in 2026 describe a Design Generative Studio that builds AI-augmented footwear design workflows and trains designers to use them.
Caution on speed
Venkatesh Alagirisamy told a Fortune COO Summit panel on Jun 1, 2026 that AI hype creates energy to adopt AI but that, without clarity of purpose, speed could take an organization in the wrong direction, and named learning agility as the leadership capability that matters most. Nike's internal learning platform, peer-curated and not mandated from above, logged 20,000 digital courses and 3,000 live sessions in its first year.
Pace and the India campus
Nike announced Pace on Oct 1, 2026, an operating model program that builds on its Mar 2026 cost realignment, modernizes the global supply chain, establishes a new campus in India to fuel enterprise capabilities and moves Nike to 3 geographies, with about $2.5 billion of expected savings through fiscal 2031. Elliott Hill said the Bengaluru campus will run the business with greater speed and precision alongside teams worldwide; Nike has not said what role AI plays in Pace.
- Deployment model
- Nike runs technology from a Global Operations organization under COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy, who since Dec 8, 2025 leads Technology alongside supply chain, planning, operations, manufacturing and sustainability and reports to CEO Elliott Hill. Business teams own the consumer AI channels: Nike Direct, led by VP Shannon Glass inside the Marketplace organization of Chief Commercial Officer Jane Ewing, announced the Gemini checkout, and product creation, led by Phil McCartney, covers the footwear design work where Nike has used generative AI. Nike has not named a head of data and AI publicly since Jason Loveland, vice president of AI, left in Jul 2025; DataIQ lists Alan John as Nike's Global Vice President, Chief Data and AI Officer, a role Nike has not confirmed. Nike's Apr 2026 memo concentrates technology work at the Philip H. Knight Campus and the Nike India Technology Center.
- Model providers
- Nike has not named the foundation models behind NikeAI; Muge Erdirik Dogan said in Jul 2025 that Nike built NikeAI on leading foundation models fine-tuned by domain experts who understand Nike. Google supplies the Gemini app, AI Mode in Search and the Universal Commerce Protocol for Nike's agentic checkout (May 2026), OpenAI's ChatGPT hosts Nike's running shoe finder, and Naver's HyperCLOVA X large language model powered BrandChat, the CLOVA for AD chat Naver began testing with Nike among its first advertisers in South Korea in Jan 2024. Nike's then chief innovation officer John Hoke said in May 2024 that Nike uses all the LLMs that are out there and was building a model in-house on Nike's own athlete data. Genon, a South Korean AI company, said in Oct 2026 that its AI vision system passed production validation for inspecting Nike footwear outsoles.
- Data and infrastructure
- Nike has not said where the models behind NikeAI run or which cloud holds its data platform. Nike's agentic checkout runs in Google's Gemini app and AI Mode in Search, with payment through Google Wallet, and Nike says it keeps the consumer relationship; Nike's running shoe finder runs inside ChatGPT, whose listing says ChatGPT may share relevant chats and memories with Nike under Nike's terms. Nike's fiscal 2026 Form 10-K says Nike develops, deploys and integrates internally developed and third-party AI tools into its operations, digital platforms and business processes, and Nike's Apr 2026 memo consolidates its technology footprint around the Philip H. Knight Campus and the Nike India Technology Center. Nike acquired Celect, a predictive analytics company whose demand data Jason Loveland's team integrated, in 2019.
Platforms and internal tools
NikeAIJul 2025
NikeAI is a conversational shopping assistant in the Nike App that Nike's technology team built so shoppers can describe what they need, such as running shoes for a race, gear for a team, or products in a favorite color and size outside the standard filters. Nike launched NikeAI as a beta for all U.S. iOS users of the Nike App in English, and Muge Erdirik Dogan said in Jul 2025 that early signs were exciting.
- Users
- All U.S. iOS users of the Nike App (beta, Jul 2025)
- Models
- Foundation models Nike has not named, fine-tuned by Nike's domain experts
Nike on Google's Gemini app and AI ModeAnnounced May 2026
Nike said on May 19, 2026 that it would integrate multi-item checkout on Google's Universal Commerce Protocol from early Jun 2026, so U.S. consumers can discover and buy Nike products, including football boots, kits and fan apparel, in the Gemini app and AI Mode in Search, paying with Google Wallet while Nike keeps the consumer relationship.
- Models
- Google Gemini
Running shoe finder in ChatGPT
Nike offers an app inside OpenAI's ChatGPT, listed as The shoe finder for runners, that helps runners choose fit, feel and footwear style; the listing says ChatGPT may share relevant chats and memories with Nike when connected. Nike has not announced the app or its launch date.
- Models
- OpenAI ChatGPT
Internal learning platformAbout Jun 2025
Nike's internal learning platform is peer-curated and bottom-up, not mandated from above, and Venkatesh Alagirisamy cited it on a Fortune COO Summit panel about AI adoption on Jun 1, 2026, a year after its launch. Fortune does not say how much of its content covers AI.
- Users
- 20,000 digital courses and 3,000 live sessions in its first year
Design Generative Studio
Nike's Design Generative Studio builds AI-augmented workflows for footwear design and trains Nike's designers to use them, working with AI/ML engineers and global technology teams, according to Nike job postings in 2026 that ask for skills in generative AI tools such as Flora.ai and ComfyUI and in fine-tuning image models. Nike has not described the studio publicly.
Vendors and partners
GoogleMay 2026
Gemini app, AI Mode in Search and Universal Commerce Protocol checkout for Nike products · Nike said the multi-item checkout would launch in the U.S. in early Jun 2026, ahead of the World Cup.
OpenAI
ChatGPT hosts Nike's running shoe finder app · Neither Nike nor OpenAI has announced the app or its launch date.
NaverJan 2024
CLOVA for AD generative ad chat on the HyperCLOVA X model, in South Korea · Nike was one of the first advertisers when Naver began testing CLOVA for AD; its current status is not public.
GenonOct 2026
AI vision inspection of Nike footwear outsoles in production · Genon said its system passed production validation for Nike footwear and will reach manufacturing lines from 2027; Nike has not commented.
Celect2019
Predictive analytics and demand data company acquired by Nike
Leadership
AI, data and platform leaders
Executives
AI org map
Technology run inside Global Operations under the COO, with no named head of AI; business teams own the consumer AI channels
Venkatesh Alagirisamy has led Nike's Technology organization since Dec 8, 2025, as EVP and Chief Operating Officer reporting to CEO Elliott Hill, after Hill eliminated the EVP and Chief Technology Officer role held by Muge Erdirik Dogan. Nike's Apr 2026 memo reshaped Technology into a leaner organization centered on the Philip H. Knight Campus and the Nike India Technology Center. Nike Direct, inside Jane Ewing's Marketplace organization, runs the consumer AI channels, and product creation, led by Phil McCartney, covers the footwear design work where Nike has used generative AI. The board's Audit & Finance Committee oversees risks from artificial intelligence.
Nike has not disclosed how many people work on AI. Jason Loveland, vice president of AI until Jul 2025, built Nike's AI/ML engineering team and worked on athlete analytics, the Celect integration and smart footwear algorithms. Nike cut about 1,400 Global Operations roles in Apr 2026, the majority in Technology, and concentrated technology work at its Beaverton campus and the Nike India Technology Center. Nike job postings describe AI/ML engineers and a Design Generative Studio that builds AI tools for footwear designers.
Reporting lines
President and CEO
Global Operations and Technology
Venkatesh Alagirisamy, EVP and COO
Supply chain, planning, operations, manufacturing, sustainability and technology; reporting line stated in the Dec 2025 announcement
Nike India Technology Center
One of 2 technology hubs named in the Apr 2026 memo; leader not published; line inferred from the memo
Foundational Technology & Services
Vice President, not named
Owns cybersecurity risk; the Jul 2026 Form 10-K still says this VP reports to a Chief Technology Officer, a role eliminated in Dec 2025, so the line is inferred
Marketplace
Jane Ewing, EVP and Chief Commercial Officer
Wholesale and Nike Direct since Sep 2026
Nike Direct
Shannon Glass, VP
Owns NikeAI's channel and the Gemini checkout; line inferred from Jane Ewing's remit
Finance
Dave Denton, EVP and CFO
Line to the CEO not published
Design Generative Studio
AI-augmented footwear design workflows, described in Nike job postings; reporting line not published
Board Audit & Finance Committee
Oversees risks including information security, data protection and artificial intelligence (2026 proxy statement)
Nike's Dec 2025 announcement states that the COO reports to the CEO and leads Technology. Nike has not published who leads technology, data or AI under the COO, and its fiscal 2026 Form 10-K, filed in Jul 2026, still describes the cybersecurity lead as reporting to a Chief Technology Officer.
Named people
Use cases
Nike has not given a count of its AI use cases; the ones on the public record are consumer shopping tools (NikeAI in the Nike App, a running shoe finder in ChatGPT and checkout in Google's Gemini app and AI Mode), generative AI for footwear concepts and design workflows, demand data from its Celect acquisition, and an AI inspection pilot in Nike footwear production. Nike has published no business-level return for any of them and no firm-level figure for AI, and none of the savings it reports from Pace or its 2026 job cuts is credited to AI.
| Use case | Area | Status | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| NikeAI conversational shopping NikeAI lets Nike App shoppers describe what they want in plain language and returns matching products, including requests outside the standard filters; Nike calls it a beta, open to all U.S. iOS users since Jul 2025. | Nike App | In production | |
| Checkout in Google's Gemini app and AI Mode Nike said U.S. consumers would be able to discover and buy Nike products, with multi-item carts, in the Gemini app and AI Mode in Search from early Jun 2026, through Google's Universal Commerce Protocol. | Agentic commerce | Announced | |
| Running shoe finder in ChatGPT A Nike app inside ChatGPT helps runners choose a shoe by fit, feel and style; Nike has not announced its launch date or usage. | Agentic commerce | In production | |
| Generative AI footwear concepts (A.I.R.) Nike designers turned athletes' preferences into prompts, used generative AI to produce hundreds of images per athlete and refined them into prototype shoes for 13 Nike athletes, shown in Paris in Apr 2024. | Product design | Pilot | |
| In-house generative design model John Hoke, then chief innovation officer, said in May 2024 that Nike was building its own model on exclusive athlete performance and lab data alongside public LLMs; Nike has not said whether it reached production. | Product design | Announced | |
| AI-augmented footwear design workflows Nike's Design Generative Studio builds custom generative AI tools and workflows for footwear designers and trains them to use them, according to Nike job postings in 2026; Nike has not said how many designers use them. | Product design | Pilot | |
| Demand sensing from Celect Nike acquired Celect, a predictive analytics company, in 2019, and Jason Loveland's AI team integrated it; Nike has not described the system's use since his departure in Jul 2025. | Supply chain | In production | |
| AI vision inspection of outsoles Genon's AI vision system passed production validation for Nike footwear, detecting outsole defects with 99.7% and 99.2% accuracy on 2 styles, with deployment on manufacturing lines planned from 2027, according to Genon (Oct 2026); Nike has not commented. | Manufacturing | Pilot | |
| Generative AI ad chat on Naver Nike was one of the first advertisers on Naver's CLOVA for AD in South Korea, whose BrandChat answers shoppers' questions about Nike products on the HyperCLOVA X model; Naver began testing it in Jan 2024, and its current status is not public. | Marketing | Pilot | |
| Internal learning platform Nike's peer-curated internal learning platform, which Venkatesh Alagirisamy cited on a panel about AI adoption, logged 20,000 digital courses and 3,000 live sessions in its first year to Jun 2026. | Workforce | In production |
Adoption
Nike's AI reaches consumers more than employees on the public record. NikeAI opened to all U.S. iOS users of the Nike App in Jul 2025, Nike announced checkout in Google's Gemini app and AI Mode in May 2026, and Nike offers a running shoe finder in ChatGPT, but Nike has published no usage figure for any of them. Inside Nike, Venkatesh Alagirisamy said in Jun 2026 that a peer-curated learning platform logged 20,000 digital courses and 3,000 live sessions in its first year, and job postings describe a Design Generative Studio building AI tools for footwear designers; Nike has not said how many of its about 73,000 employees use AI tools or whether it provides a general-purpose AI assistant.
By the numbers
Rollout, first pilot to today
2019
Nike acquired Celect, a predictive analytics company that Jason Loveland's AI team later integrated.
Jan 2024
Nike became one of the first advertisers on Naver's CLOVA for AD, a generative AI ad chat on the HyperCLOVA X model in South Korea.
Apr 2024
Nike showed 13 A.I.R. prototype shoes designed with generative AI in Paris, and John Hoke said Nike was building its own model on athlete data.
Jun 2025
Nike launched a peer-curated internal learning platform, about a year before Venkatesh Alagirisamy reported its first-year figures.
Jul 2025
Nike launched the NikeAI beta to all U.S. iOS users of the Nike App, and Jason Loveland, its vice president of AI, left Nike.
Dec 2025
Nike eliminated its CTO role and put Technology under Venkatesh Alagirisamy as EVP and COO from Dec 8, 2025.
Apr 2026
Nike cut about 1,400 Global Operations roles, mostly in Technology, and concentrated technology work in 2 hubs.
May 2026
Nike announced checkout of its products in Google's Gemini app and AI Mode in Search, planned for early Jun 2026 in the U.S.
Oct 2026
Genon said its AI vision inspection passed production validation for Nike footwear, with deployment planned from 2027.
Economics & controls
Spend and ROI
Technology budget
Nike does not disclose a technology budget. Nike's additions to property, plant and equipment were $684 million in fiscal 2026, up from $430 million in fiscal 2025, on revenues of $46.4 billion, flat on a reported basis (Form 10-K, Jul 2026). Nike's then CFO said in Mar 2026 that Nike had accelerated supply chain and technology investment during the pandemic to support a larger digital business and was now optimizing its technology workforce and rationalizing programs.
What AI itself costs
Nike has not disclosed what it spends on AI models, cloud computing or AI staff, or what it pays Google, OpenAI or other providers for its AI shopping channels.
Reported ROI
Nike has published no return it credits to AI. Nike's executives did not discuss AI on the earnings calls of Sep 30 and Dec 18, 2025 or Mar 31, Jun 30 and Oct 1, 2026, and Retail Dive noted in Jul 2025 that Nike had not mentioned AI on its 4 calls before that either. Muge Erdirik Dogan said in Jul 2025 that early NikeAI engagement was exciting, without a figure.
Cost programs
Nike recognized $385 million of employee severance costs in fiscal 2026, mainly from realigning costs across supply chain and technology, and in Oct 2026 announced Pace, which it expects to deliver about $2.5 billion of cumulative savings through fiscal 2031 for about $1.0 billion of pre-tax charges. Nike ties the savings to supply chain modernization, a new campus in India, 3 geographies and a smaller organization; Nike has not said whether any of it comes from AI, and the $2.5 billion is an estimate, not a realized saving.
Headcount
Nike employed about 73,000 people at May 31, 2026. Nike cut 775 jobs, mainly at U.S. distribution centers, in Jan 2026 while accelerating the use of advanced technology and automation, and about 1,400 Global Operations roles, mostly in Technology, in Apr 2026, when Venkatesh Alagirisamy said Nike would use more advanced automation where it helps. Elliott Hill said on Oct 1, 2026 that Pace will reduce the overall number of roles at Nike over time. Nike has not attributed any of these reductions to AI.
Governance and risk
Board oversight
Nike's 2026 proxy statement, filed Jul 15, 2026, gives the board's Audit & Finance Committee oversight of risks including information security, cybersecurity, data protection and artificial intelligence. Nike's fiscal 2026 Form 10-K says the full board receives a cybersecurity update every quarter.
Disclosed AI risks
Nike's fiscal 2026 Form 10-K warns that developing and integrating internally developed and third-party AI tools brings cybersecurity, privacy, data governance and compliance risks, including misuse of AI tools, data leakage, inaccurate or biased outputs, including in some employment-related uses, and fast-changing AI laws, and that threat actors may use AI to scale attacks. The same filing says Nike may need to build AI-enabled search, discovery, personalization and recommendation to stay competitive as consumers shop through AI.
Security management
Nike's Vice President, Foundational Technology & Services has primary responsibility for cybersecurity risk, following the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, and Nike's internal audit function tests the program and reports to the Audit & Finance Committee. The fiscal 2026 Form 10-K says this vice president reports to the Chief Technology Officer, a role Nike eliminated in Dec 2025.
Consumer data in AI channels
Nike's Google release says Nike keeps the consumer relationship when shoppers buy in the Gemini app and AI Mode, and the ChatGPT listing for Nike's running shoe finder says ChatGPT may share relevant chats and memories with Nike, governed by Nike's own terms and privacy policy.
Executive stance
Venkatesh Alagirisamy said in Jun 2026 that AI hype without clarity of purpose could send Nike's speed in the wrong direction, and Nike's internal learning approach is peer-curated rather than mandated. Nike has not published an AI policy or named an AI governance committee.
Recent signals
Oct 21, 2026
Genon said its AI vision system passed production validation for inspecting Nike footwear outsoles and would reach manufacturing lines from 2027.
Oct 1, 2026
Nike announced Pace, an operating model program with a new campus in India and about $2.5 billion of expected savings through fiscal 2031, without tying it to AI.
Sep 2026
Jane Ewing joined as EVP and Chief Commercial Officer, leading the Marketplace organization that includes Nike Direct.
Jul 15, 2026
Nike's fiscal 2026 Form 10-K described Nike's use of internally developed and third-party AI tools and their risks, and its proxy statement put AI risk under the Audit & Finance Committee.
Jun 30, 2026
Elliott Hill said Nike had redeployed Nike Direct technology teams to support the whole value chain and is investing in advanced tools to improve speed and precision.
Jun 1, 2026
Venkatesh Alagirisamy warned of speed without clarity in AI adoption and said Nike's internal learning platform logged 20,000 courses in its first year.
May 19, 2026
Nike announced checkout of Nike products in Google's Gemini app and AI Mode in Search for the U.S. from early Jun 2026.
Apr 23, 2026
Nike cut about 1,400 Global Operations roles, most in Technology, consolidated technology in 2 hubs and said it would use more advanced automation.
Mar 31, 2026
Nike reported a $230 million severance charge, mainly in Supply Chain and Technology, as Nike optimizes its technology workforce and adopts new advanced capabilities.
Jan 2026
Nike cut 775 jobs, mainly at U.S. distribution centers in Tennessee and Mississippi, while accelerating its use of advanced technology and automation.
Dec 2025
Nike eliminated its EVP and Chief Technology Officer role, and Muge Erdirik Dogan left, as Technology moved under COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy.
Quick answers
- How does Nike deploy AI?
- Nike deploys AI mainly where consumers shop: NikeAI, a conversational search assistant in the Nike App for U.S. iOS users since Jul 2025, a running shoe finder inside ChatGPT, and checkout of Nike products in Google's Gemini app and AI Mode, announced in May 2026. Nike has also used generative AI to create footwear concepts since 2024. COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy has run technology since Nike eliminated its CTO role in Dec 2025, and Nike reports no return from AI.
- What does Nike use AI for?
- Nike has not given a count of its AI use cases; the ones on the public record are consumer shopping tools (NikeAI in the Nike App, a running shoe finder in ChatGPT and checkout in Google's Gemini app and AI Mode), generative AI for footwear concepts and design workflows, demand data from its Celect acquisition, and an AI inspection pilot in Nike footwear production. Nike has published no business-level return for any of them and no firm-level figure for AI, and none of the savings it reports from Pace or its 2026 job cuts is credited to AI.
- Who leads AI at Nike?
- AI at Nike is led by Venkatesh Alagirisamy (Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer); Shannon Glass (Vice President, Nike Direct). Ownership of AI on the org chart: COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy, who leads Technology and reports to the CEO; no named head of AI.
- What AI platform does Nike use?
- Nike has not described an enterprise AI platform. Nike's consumer AI runs in the Nike App, where its technology team built NikeAI on foundation models fine-tuned by Nike's domain experts (Jul 2025), and in third-party assistants: Google's Gemini app and AI Mode in Search for checkout (May 2026) and OpenAI's ChatGPT for a running shoe finder.
- Which AI models does Nike use?
- Nike has not named the foundation models behind NikeAI. Google's Gemini carries Nike's agentic checkout, ChatGPT hosts Nike's running shoe finder, and Naver's HyperCLOVA X powered a Nike ad chat in South Korea (Jan 2024); Nike's then chief innovation officer said in May 2024 that Nike uses the public LLMs and was building its own model on athlete data.
- How many Nike employees use AI?
- Nike opened the NikeAI beta to all U.S. iOS users of the Nike App in Jul 2025. Nike has not said how many of its about 73,000 employees use AI tools; an internal learning platform logged 20,000 digital courses and 3,000 live sessions in its first year (Jun 2026).
- What return has Nike reported from AI?
- Nike sits in Experimenting because it has reported no business return it credits to AI in the 18 months to Nov 2026: its executives did not discuss AI on the earnings calls of Sep 30 and Dec 18, 2025 or Mar 31, Jun 30 and Oct 1, 2026, and the savings Nike does report, about $2.5 billion expected from its Pace program through fiscal 2031, and the job cuts in distribution (Jan 2026) and technology (Apr 2026) are tied to supply chain changes, restructuring and automation, never to AI. Nike has not reported a company-wide AI rollout with a user count either: COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy, who has overseen technology since Dec 8, 2025, said an internal learning platform logged 20,000 digital courses in its first year (Jun 2026), a training count, not a count of employees using AI. Nike's AI work on the record since May 2025, NikeAI in the Nike App (Jul 2025), a running shoe finder in ChatGPT and agentic checkout in Google's Gemini app and AI Mode (May 2026), keeps it on the map. Nike would reach Piloting with one revenue, cost or headcount figure it credits to AI, or an official count of employees using its AI tools with a named owner.
Open questions
- Which foundation models power NikeAI, and on which cloud do they run?
- How many people use NikeAI, has it left beta or reached Android and markets outside the U.S., and what sales does Nike attribute to it?
- Did Nike's checkout in Google's Gemini app and AI Mode launch in Jun 2026 as planned, and what has it sold?
- When did Nike launch its running shoe finder in ChatGPT, and does Nike report its usage?
- Who leads data and AI under Venkatesh Alagirisamy after Jason Loveland and Muge Erdirik Dogan left, and does Alan John, listed by DataIQ as Chief Data and AI Officer, still hold that role?
- How many Nike employees use AI tools each week, and does Nike provide a general-purpose AI assistant to corporate staff?
- Does any part of the about $2.5 billion Pace savings or the 2026 technology and distribution job cuts come from AI?
- What does Nike spend on AI, including model providers and the AI shopping channels?
- Did the in-house generative design model John Hoke described in May 2024 reach production, and how many designers use the Design Generative Studio's tools?
- Will Genon's AI inspection reach Nike's footwear production lines in 2027, and does Nike confirm the program?
Sources
Nike
- Nike leadership
- Elliott Hill, President and CEO, biography
- Venkatesh Alagirisamy, EVP and COO, biography
- Dave Denton, EVP and CFO, biography
- Jane Ewing, EVP and Chief Commercial Officer, biography
- Phil McCartney, EVP Chief Innovation, Design and Product Officer, biography
- Senior leadership changes, COO to lead Technology (Dec 2025)
- Global Operations changes, memo from Venkatesh Alagirisamy (Apr 23, 2026)
- Nike is serving athletes faster through AI-powered shopping on Google (May 19, 2026)
- Nike running shoe finder app listing in ChatGPT
- Nike job posting: Generative AI Design Expert, Design Generative Studio (2026)
Filings, letters and investor materials
- Nike fiscal 2026 Form 10-K (filed Jul 2026)
- Nike 2026 proxy statement (filed Jul 15, 2026)
- Form 8-K, Pace program (Oct 1, 2026)
- First quarter fiscal 2027 results release (Oct 1, 2026)
- Q1 FY2027 earnings call transcript (Oct 1, 2026)
- Q4 FY2026 earnings call transcript (Jun 30, 2026)
- Q3 FY2026 earnings call transcript (Mar 31, 2026)
- Q2 FY2026 earnings call transcript (Dec 18, 2025)
- Q1 FY2026 earnings call transcript (Sep 30, 2025)
Partners and vendors
News
- Fortune: The automation illusion, Nike, Sysco and Box COOs on AI adoption (Jun 1, 2026)
- Sourcing Journal via Yahoo: Nike beta tests in-app conversational AI (Jul 25, 2025)
- Digital Commerce 360: How Nike is using AI (Oct 9, 2025)
- Retail Dive: Nike's vice president of AI exits (Jul 17, 2025)
- Consumer Goods Technology: Nike eliminates CTO, tech oversight moves to new COO (Dec 3, 2025)
- Consumer Goods Technology: Nike expands reach with Google agentic commerce (May 2026)
- Retail Dive: Nike cuts 1,400 jobs, most in technology (Apr 2026)
- FreightWaves: Nike to lay off hundreds of distribution workers (Jan 2026)
- Dezeen: Nike building its own AI model, John Hoke (May 7, 2024)
- SGI Europe: Nike names Jane Ewing chief commercial officer (2026)
- DataIQ 100: Alan John, Chief Data and AI Officer, Nike
Data confidence
- Confirmed
- Stated in a primary or reputable public source.
- Estimated
- Derived or approximated from public reporting.
- Unconfirmed
- Reported, but not yet corroborated.
Nike profile · Enterprise AI diffusion report by Imagine · facts checked against their sources on Nov 5, 2026
