One of the most forward-looking discussions at Rakuten AI Optimism 2026 centered on where AI meets the physical world. A panel including Rakuten Group SVP of AI and Product Natalie Mao, alongside leaders from NVIDIA and Dell Technologies, examined how AI avatars, humanoid robots, and edge computing can close the long-standing gap between online research and in-store purchasing.
The goal, as the panelists framed it, is not to remove people from the store but to free them up. "At Rakuten, we believe AI should augment human creativity," Mao said, pointing to the opportunity for AI to handle the heavy lifting so shop floor teams can focus on hospitality and building customer trust. Live demonstrations brought the concept to life, including a conversational shopping kiosk and a humanoid robot onstage illustrating how AI-powered robotics could support store staff.
A second panel turned to on-device AI, where tasks are shifting from the cloud to a hybrid of local and cloud processing. Rakuten Group Executive Officer Taku Okoshi highlighted the launch of Rakuten AI for Desktop on HP PCs in Japan, noting that running AI directly on a machine delivers faster, more secure, and more private experiences. The takeaway from both sessions: as hardware, models, and software converge, AI at your fingertips is becoming reality.
Read the full recap here.
