Tote AI Launches HQ Genie AI, an Industry-First AI Agent for Faster, Smarter Convenience Store Operations

HQ Genie AI lets operators ask plain-language questions and get instant answers from live data, while automating recurring tasks that used to take up their day.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Tote AI today launched HQ Genie AI, an AI agent that works alongside store operators, studying their business operations with them and finding answers deep in their data through natural language. The release is available now to Tote customers and marks the start of what Tote calls a new era of AI-native, natural-language operations for convenience retail. Tote designed HQ Genie from the ground up for the industry, with the realities of running a c-store in mind.

HQ Genie evolves traditional back-office reporting, where finding an answer often means digging through menus, filters and static reports, with a prompt box. Users can type questions such as what the latest discount on Diet Soda is, how many Monster Energy drinks a given store has left, what daily sales looked like over the last ten days, or the status of a specific card refund, and get an answer in seconds. Because HQ Genie searches across the data faster than menus and static reports allow, operators alongside HQ Genie can study an issue together and find answers quicker.

Because Tote runs the point of sale, HQ Genie goes beyond sales analytics. It draws on operational data from across the store, including the devices connected through Tote Device Cloud, which lets corporate help desk teams use it to spot and diagnose problems. For example, a help desk analyst can ask which devices across the chain need attention and see where issues are occurring, store by store.

Agentic workflows, now in beta, are built into HQ Genie and work proactively to automate recurring tasks. Through scheduling, a distinct feature within these workflows, operators can run checks like a morning sales brief for every store, an hourly terminal health check, an end-of-day close check that flags an unclosed drawer, or a standing watch on large refunds, with results posting back to the chat on a set cadence. Chats are private by default but can be shared, so a colleague can pick up a troubleshooting thread, and work keeps running even after a browser tab is closed. HQ Genie also supports voice interaction. It respects each user's existing permissions, so answers draw only on data that person is authorized to see. Any action that changes data requires human approval.

"Operators get answers in seconds instead of digging through reports, and HQ Genie handles the recurring checks so they don't have to," said Shyam Rao, Founder and CEO of Tote. "Because our point of sale connects to everything in the store through Device Cloud, HQ Genie can do things like diagnose why afternoon fuel flow rates dipped, not just report how sales performed yesterday. That's the shift we're driving in convenience retail, moving AI from a chatbot that answers questions to a system operators direct and take action with."

"Our associates already work with Genie every day at the counter, asking policy questions and getting answers without leaving the register," said Varish Goyal, CEO of Loop Neighborhood Markets. "Bringing that same plain-language access to our operations data is the obvious next step. An answer in seconds beats digging through a report every time."

HQ Genie is available alongside updates to two of Tote's existing AI offerings. Associate Genie AI, which answers policy questions and files support tickets from the counter, now includes usage analytics that flag where questions go unanswered and guide teams to close training gaps, support for more file types in its knowledge base, and feedback that improves accuracy over time. Consumer Genie AI, the shopper-facing assistant, now also handles customer support, drawing only from a retailer's own knowledge base to keep answers accurate.

HQ Genie is already in production at Huck's Market, Loop Neighborhood Markets and Spinx, with new features being introduced throughout the year. The launch follows Tote's online ordering release last month and comes roughly a week ahead of the NACS Show, where Tote will demo HQ Genie and its other offerings at booth C6178.

About Tote AI 

Tote AI is building the AI-native commerce platform for convenience retail. Combining modern point of sale, back office, foodservice and AI-powered store operations into a single cloud platform, Tote helps retailers simplify operations, empower store teams and continuously adopt new innovations without the limitations of legacy technology. Leading convenience retailers across North America trust Tote to power the next generation of retail.

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SOURCE Tote.ai