Cannabis technology company Treez Inc. has launched early access to Winston, a new artificial intelligence platform designed to help operators of cannabis plants and other regulated retail industries manage operational tasks across multiple business systems.

Announced Wednesday, Winston is pitched as an autonomous platform for AI team partners that connects to various retail software systems and is designed to eliminate operational bottlenecks created by siled departments and disconnected technology platforms.

Winston differs from traditional AI productivity tools by integrating with systems commonly used in retail operations, including point-of-sale platforms, e-commerce software, compliance systems, payroll, human resources, accounting, loyalty programs, supply chain tools and messaging platforms, according to Treez. The company said all actions initiated by the platform go through an approval queue and include a full audit trail.

“Cannabis retail has spent a decade waiting for software to manage the operation, not just report on it,” said John Young, founder and chief executive officer of Treez. “Triz laid the groundwork for Winston’s level of operational intelligence for retail.”

Treez said the platform is already in use domestically and at SPARC, a California-based cannabis dispensary operator with seven locations in San Francisco, Sonoma County and Napa Valley.

“The launch of six dispensaries means the work of buyers, CEOs and back offices never stops,” said Robbie Rainin, SPARC’s vice president of retail operations. “Winston does the work that used to get stuck between stores and systems.”

The company also highlighted the use of the platform by Perfect Union, a California-based cannabis merchant.

“Winston is faster than any AI tool I’ve built or tested, including the ones our team put together with Codex and Claude,” said Mike Alarea, COO of Perfect Union. “Winston can answer key questions in seconds, while our homegrown version sometimes takes hours.”

Triese said Winston integrates with a variety of technology providers used throughout the cannabis retail ecosystem. Supported systems include Treez, Dutchie and Cova point of sale platforms; METRC and BioTrack compliance systems; customer relationship tools including Alpine IQ, Salesforce and HubSpot; workforce management platforms such as Deputy, ADP and Gusto; and operational tools including Distru, OnFleet and Google Workspace.

The company is opening early access to cannabis dispensary operators across the United States regardless of which point of sale system they use. Operators participating in the program will receive onboarding support directly from the Winston team.

Treez is also launching an affiliate program aimed at consultants, agencies, fractional operators and technology providers serving the retail cannabis business.

Founded in 2016, Treez provides POS, payment, e-commerce, loyalty and analytics technology to cannabis retailers in more than a dozen states. The company said it currently serves hundreds of dispensaries across the United States.

Initially focused on cannabis, Winston is positioned as an AI team partner platform for regulated industries more broadly, connecting retail operations systems and helping teams with cross-functional workflows.