Stores across Ireland can benefit from artificial intelligence (AI) that can estimate someone’s age with almost 100% accuracy, thanks to a partnership between Dublin’s Johnston Retail Services and Swiss company Privately SA.

Privately’s AgeAI app provides automated and accurate facial age estimation, removing guesswork from age checks and mitigating the risk of fines for selling vapes to children. It is 100% anonymous, with no images transmitted or stored, and GDPR certified. It helps protect staff by reducing the need for unnecessary ID checks for adults that are a source of major conflict.

A 2023 study (www.irishtimes.com/health/2023/10/26/report-finds-more-than-one-in-three-young-teenagers-currently-vape) revealed that more than one-third of young people aged 13 to 16 in Ireland vape, and almost one-quarter of 10 to 12-year-olds said they had tried vaping.

“Underage vaping is a problem in Ireland, and there’s a pressing requirement to prevent sales to minors,” said Deepak Tewari, CEO of Privately SA. “But store owners and managers need help, and our partnership with Johnston Retail Services delivers that, with an automated, accurate and speedy opution that allows staff to avoid the confrontation that comes from requests for ID and turning people away.”

Johnston Retail Services works with most nationwide Irish retailers including Applegreen, Centra, SuperValu, An Post and Dunnes Stores. It helps retailers transform, providing innovations that grow revenue, enhance customer experiences, and fortify the foundations of retail success.

The deal with Privately SA (www.privately.eu) will see Johnston Retail Services bring AgeAI to stores in Ireland. It requires little setup, and it’s no burden to customers. People just look at a screen that instantly notifies whether they appear above a certain age. If there’s a positive indication, checkout continues. If it is not, an ID request can be made.

AgeAI (www.privately.eu/ageai) is already in use with hundreds of independent vape stores in the UK due to Privately SA’s partnership with the retail trade association Our Vape Advocacy. Bringing AgeAI to Ireland is a breakthrough in helping combat underage vape sales, and an essential use of innovative technology, according to Brian Hurley, commercial director at Johnston Retail Services (www.retailservices.ie).

“Ensuring your operation has a technology focus is now more important than ever,” said Hurley. “Those who adopt and embrace the technology available tend to reap more success with much less effort than one may think. Enforcement of age-restricted selling is no doubt going to become more and more prevalent. AgeAI is extremely simple, affordable and an indispensable tool that we are excited to be able to offer our customers to help with this legal selling requirement.”

Privately is a start-up whose child safety apps have protected more than 100,000 children. During the past year, Privately has carried out almost one million age check transactions in retail environments.