LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) - Britain's Sainsbury's ( JSNSF )

said on Friday it has agreed a five-year strategic

partnership with Microsoft ( MSFT ) that will use the technology

company's artificial intelligence capabilities and the

supermarket group's rich data.

Seeking revenue gains and cost savings, more retailers are

using generative AI to boost personalised shopping experiences

for consumers and make staff working practices more efficient.

Sainsbury's ( JSNSF ), Britain's second-largest grocer after Tesco ( TSCDF )

, said it would use AI to create a more interactive

shopping experience for online shoppers, while also improving

search functions.

In stores, staff would have real-time data and insights for

key processes, such as shelf replenishment.

Time to market for new services and product innovations

would also be reduced, Sainsbury's ( JSNSF ) said.

No financial details of the partnership were disclosed.

Sainsbury's ( JSNSF ) in February updated the market on its strategy,

setting a new cost-savings target of 1 billion pounds ($1.3

billion) over three years and pledging to boost returns for

shareholders.

Last month, it forecast up to 10% growth in profit in the

current financial year that began on March 3, confident it can

continue to win more customers from rivals.

($1 = 0.7895 pounds)