Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – AEON360 has entered a multi-year collaboration with Google Cloud to develop an artificial intelligence–driven ecosystem designed to streamline shopping and daily services across Southeast Asia, beginning with Malaysia.
Announced on April 16 in Kuala Lumpur, the partnership aims to create what the companies describe as a “continuous commerce” experience that integrates retail, financial, and lifestyle services across AEON’s ecosystem.
The initiative forms part of AEON360’s broader agentic commerce roadmap in the region, intended to make customer interactions—from product discovery to delivery and post-purchase support—adapt to shoppers’ needs in real time.
“Our ambition is to create an ecosystem that serves consumers as a cohesive, intelligent entity, so every engagement feels crafted just for them, no matter where they begin their shopping journey,” said Daisuke Maeda, Chairman of AEON360.
“With Google Cloud, we’re shifting from simple digital interactions to AI agents that surface the most relevant offerings and perform complex tasks on our customers’ behalf, starting in Malaysia, with a roadmap to expand across key Southeast Asian markets that we’re present in. Through our Innovation Foundry, we’re upskilling our staff to be the architects of this agentic commerce future, anchored on a data foundation that adapts to evolving preferences, predicated on customer consent,” he further explained.
The next stage of the initiative will be led by AEON360 Managing Director Low Ngai Yuen and Chief Technology Officer Glen Cha, who will oversee the implementation of the collaboration into customer-facing services.
Building a unified data foundation
At the center of the collaboration is the development of a contextual intelligence engine designed to integrate data across AEON’s different services. The system is intended to recognise customer preferences across touchpoints and offer personalised product recommendations, loyalty incentives, and financing options.
For example, shoppers searching for groceries in Kuala Lumpur could receive curated product suggestions, member pricing, and real-time stock availability through AEON platforms such as myAEON2go or at nearby AEON MaxValu stores. The platform could also dynamically integrate installment plans, cashback offers, or loyalty points into the purchasing process.
To support the initiative, AEON360 is using BigQuery, Google Cloud’s data platform, to develop an enterprise knowledge graph that consolidates customer data across AEON’s various business units and digital channels. The companies say this unified data foundation will underpin the deployment of AI agents capable of carrying out tasks on behalf of customers.
Innovation Foundry and workforce development
As part of the collaboration, AEON360 and Google Cloud will establish the AEON360 Innovation Foundry in Kuala Lumpur. The facility will focus on training employees in AI technologies and enabling teams to develop agentic AI solutions aimed at improving customer engagement and supporting new revenue opportunities across AEON’s merchant, tenant, and supplier network.
The Foundry will use Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience (CX) to deploy configurable AI agents that support both shopping and customer service functions.
According to the companies, a shopping agent will function as a digital concierge capable of processing text, voice, and image inputs to build shopping carts and complete authorized actions, while a customer experience agent will provide round-the-clock support and real-time guidance for service representatives.
Expanding commerce through open standards
AEON360 also plans to extend its agentic commerce capabilities beyond its own platforms through the adoption of the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard developed by Google. The protocol enables AI agents and retail systems to interact across multiple consumer platforms, businesses, and payment providers.
Under this framework, AEON360 may introduce a business agent through Google Merchant Center that allows shoppers to communicate directly with AEON brands via Google Search. The system would function as a virtual sales assistant capable of answering product questions and presenting targeted promotions to shoppers during the purchasing process.
The company is also exploring integrations with Google Pay that could enable agent-led transactions across various touchpoints, with payment methods and shipping information securely stored in Google Wallet.
“For too long, traditional retail technologies have created fragmented experiences where shoppers are forced to restart their journeys at every turn,” said Hana Raja, Country Manager for Malaysia at Google Cloud. “AEON360 is changing this by using Google Cloud’s full-stack AI to turn toilsome browsing into a frictionless experience. Our collaboration will deliver agentic commerce solutions grounded in a ‘continuous thread’ of context—ensuring that information flows with the shopper to help AEON360 anticipate and act on what they need next.”
