BLAZE, a leading cannabis software company, is expanding its focus on artificial intelligence with a companywide rebrand and the debut of BLAZE Labs, an internal innovation hub designed to pilot experimental AI tools and gather retailer feedback.
The first release from the initiative is “Herbie,” an AI-powered virtual assistant that helps online customers navigate product selections and make confident purchasing decisions, much like a knowledgeable in-store budtender.
The rollout marks the company’s latest effort to streamline cannabis retail operations through automation. A shift BLAZE describes as moving from a traditional “system of record” to an “intelligent system of action” that can act on data in real time.
Reimagining retail operations through automation
The company’s rebrand underscores a broader shift in how cannabis retailers approach technology investments. With tight margins and complex regulations, operators are looking for tools that reduce manual work and strengthen compliance oversight.
BLAZE is positioning AI as a direct answer to those needs. The company is quantifying ROI in three key areas: labor efficiency, sales conversion, and compliance automation.
“AI isn’t about flashy features — it’s about labor, revenue and margin,” CEO Chris Violas said.
Automation, he noted, can reduce manual workloads by 20–30%, particularly for repetitive tasks such as menu updates, product tagging, and inventory forecasting. BLAZE’s AI recommendation engine already accounts for roughly one-third of items in online orders — evidence, Violas said, that automation can have a measurable impact on revenue growth.
Compliance as a core use case
Compliance continues to be one of the most expensive and time-consuming aspects of cannabis retail and one where BLAZE sees significant opportunity for AI to help.
The company is developing systems that automatically scan reporting and inventory data for inconsistencies, suggest corrective steps, and generate audit-ready documentation. Violas said those features will evolve toward “predictive compliance,” in which the system can detect potential issues before they occur.
“Instead of reacting to compliance problems, we want operators to stay a step ahead,” Violas said. “Over time, our goal is to build a system that learns from regulatory trends and alerts retailers before a rule even changes.”
Tackling adoption challenges
Even as AI gains traction in other industries, many cannabis retailers remain cautious about adopting new technology. Violas said the company designed its latest tools to minimize complexity and build user trust.
“Most retailers have been burned by over-promised technology before,” he said. “Our goal is to make AI feel invisible — it should seem like your software just got smarter overnight, not like you need to learn a new tool.”
BLAZE’s AI interfaces include in-app guidance and simplified training materials to shorten the learning curve for staff, along with transparency controls for data privacy.
AI leadership and next steps
As part of the rebrand, BLAZE promoted Scott Roehrick to Vice President of AI, a new role focused on embedding artificial intelligence across product development, sales, and internal workflows.
Roehrick said the change reflects how central AI has become to the company’s operations.
“AI isn’t a department at BLAZE — it’s becoming the connective tissue that powers how we build, learn, and scale,” Roehrick said.
Through BLAZE Labs, Roehrick’s team is working directly with pilot partners to test new features and gather feedback before wider release. Early input, Violas noted, has already shaped several upcoming product iterations.
“Being a customer obsessed organization, it’s all about delivering value to our customers. BLAZE Labs has allowed our team more freedom to quickly create tools to solve specific retailer problems without waiting for the roadmap. Feedback from customers has been very positive for each tool we have build so far because it was built in collaboration with their needs,” Violas said.
With Herbie now live and more AI-driven tools in development, BLAZE’s rebrand signals a measured but decisive push toward operational automation — one aimed less at hype and more at helping cannabis retailers run leaner, smarter, and more compliant businesses.
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