At the 2026 Rakuten AI Optimism conference, Rakuten Group Chairman and CEO Mickey Mikitani laid out the company's AI ambitions plainly: to become the platform that uses AI the most in the world. Central to that vision is the Super Agent, which connects Rakuten's shopping, travel, banking, and other services into a single system that acts as a personal executive assistant, handling everything from consultation to booking and payment.
Mikitani also introduced Ichiko, an AI Store Manager that lets merchants create 24/7 avatars built on their own personality and product knowledge. Rather than pulling generic specs from the web, Ichiko reads a shopper's broader persona to tailor its recommendations, giving stores a way to handle complex inquiries at scale without losing what makes them distinct. Both are powered by models Rakuten is developing in-house, an approach Mikitani credits to the depth and quality of the company's own data.
Together, they reflect a broader philosophy that runs through Rakuten's AI strategy: technology should amplify what makes shops and shoppers distinct, not replace it. As Mikitani put it, "AI is going to fundamentally evolve our services. But no matter how far we go, the most important thing is how we value the human element."
Read the full recap here.
