Ron Johnson spent years building Apple's retail stores into one of the most successful store networks in the world. Now he is pushing back on the idea that artificial intelligence will take over how people shop.
Johnson, 66, joined Apple in 2000 to lead its retail division. He helped design the store layout and service model that became central to the brand.
He does not think AI will change how people buy things in any major way. "AI is a new technology that will improve the online shopping experience," Johnson said. "But I don't know that it's going to change which way we shop."
His comments come as large tech companies try to bring AI deeper into shopping. Google has built the Universal Commerce Protocol, a system meant to help AI agents guide shoppers from product discovery to checkout.
OpenAI has taken a similar path. ChatGPT now lets users research, compare, and in some cases purchase products directly inside the chatbot.
Johnson was asked if someone might let an AI agent pick and buy a laptop worth over a thousand dollars without visiting a store. His answer was direct. "Honestly, nobody's going to do that," he said.
Why Big Purchases Still Need Human Touch
He said buying a laptop is too personal to hand off entirely to a machine. People want to feel the weight of the device and see the screen for themselves.
"AI will never be able to have you physically experience a product," Johnson said. He believes AI will instead help shoppers arrive at stores already informed.
Johnson's confidence traces back to decisions Apple made more than twenty years ago. Its stores were designed for more than sales. They were built as places to learn, test products, and get help.
Johnson covers some of this history in his new book, Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple's Genius. The book looks back at his work with Steve Jobs on Apple's retail strategy.
He said other retailers copied Apple's glass storefronts and open layouts. Some even built their own versions of the Genius Bar. But he said most missed the real reason the model worked.
"The secret sauce for Apple has always been its people," Johnson said. Store employees are not paid on commission, which Johnson said removes pressure to push a sale.
Lessons From a Retail Turnaround That Failed
After Apple, Johnson took the top job at J.C. Penney in 2011. He tried to rebuild the struggling department store chain but was removed less than two years later after sales dropped.
Johnson now says he moved too fast. He treated a turnaround like a startup launch, without bringing staff and customers along for the change.
"I applied a startup mentality to what needed to be a turnaround transformation," he said.
He later founded Enjoy Technology, a company that delivered tech products and setup help to people's homes. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2022 and sold its assets to Asurion.
Despite his doubts about AI shopping agents, Johnson said he supports the technology overall. "I'm a real believer in AI. I'm an AI optimist," he said.
He believes Jobs would have welcomed AI as a tool, not a replacement for human judgment. Johnson closed by pointing to what he sees as the one thing AI still cannot do.
"There's no substitute for human intuition," Johnson said.
