While many shopping centers are still struggling to reduce vacancy rates and accelerate space leasing, the AD Group decided to put a new salesperson to work 24 hours a day, via WhatsApp, with real power to close deals. But she doesn't wear a badge, doesn't take a lunch break, and isn't dependent on business hours. She's a virtual assistant with artificial intelligence (AI).
Named Lug, in reference to AlugueOn, the company's digital platform focused on selling these spaces, the assistant began working directly on the group's marketplace and now manages virtually the entire negotiation process with potential retailers.
The second largest shopping mall management company in the country, with 44 shopping centers and more than 1 million square meters (m²) of gross leasable area (GLA), Grupo AD invested in the development of its own virtual assistant model, inspired by initiatives such as Lu , from Magazine Luiza, to streamline - and automate - the entire process of leasing stores, kiosks and media spaces.
“Technology is fundamental to a company's growth today. The development of artificial intelligence, especially in the commercial area, is closely linked to business advancement and cost reduction,” says Helcio Povoa, founder and CEO of Grupo AD, in an interview with NeoFeed .
In just a few weeks, Lug's numbers surprised Povoa. Since the start of the pilot project last November, the generation of qualified leads—customers with the highest potential for closing—has increased by 38%. In practice, according to the company, the AI already delivers the retailer "ready" for negotiation.
Of the more than 1,600 new contracts signed in 2025, AlugueOn already accounts for 22% of conversions. Within this volume coming from the digital channel, the introduction of the virtual assistant has increased this share by 56%.
“AI has enabled us to have the entire conversation with the client and even move on to proposals. Today, it's an agent that closes deals. It just doesn't approve or sign. The evolution is enormous,” says Povoa.
In practice, it is the only solution of its kind operating in the shopping mall sector in Brazil. Lug presents rental options, sizes and prices, assesses the profile of the interested party and even recommends whether a particular segment is already saturated in that unit. Based on this analysis, it suggests alternatives that make sense for the mix of each shopping mall.
The digital "salesperson's" performance has also helped the group maintain the vacancy rate of its shopping malls at historically low levels, around 3%.
While a physical negotiation typically takes around 20 days until the contract is signed, renting a simple space via a virtual assistant can be completed in three or four days.
“Lug does a very thorough job, seeks out good brands and works to complement the product mix. It sells very well in satellite stores and kiosks,” says Povoa.
"Today, we can say that she is already our high-performing executive. The expectation is not only to bring in new contracts, but to continuously evolve Lug, so that it becomes increasingly specialized in shopping malls and better serves our users," he adds.
In addition to deepening the "brain" of the assistant, the group intends to expand its functions. The idea is for Lug to stop acting solely as a digital salesperson and also take on the role of public relations for the shopping mall network.
This upgrade is expected to take place in the first quarter. Plans include replacing traditional information kiosks with voice interactions, allowing consumers to directly ask the AI about the location of stores, services, and events.
“We intend for Lug to interact more and more with our customers. All this without needing to type. The customer will simply ask her,” says Magali Sanches, partner and commercial director of Grupo AD.
Although she acknowledges the inspiration from Magalu's assistant, the commercial director emphasizes that the project was developed internally by the group's IT team, with support from a specialized company.
The partnership with the retailer, by the way, is long-standing. Magazine Luiza is among the network's main retailers, and, at the launch of AlugueOn in 2021, Luiza Helena Trajano herself participated with an institutional testimonial about the initiative.
The next step is to take Lug outside the AD Group network, transforming the virtual assistant into a service provider for third parties. Studies are already underway to apply the model in logistics warehouses and even shopping malls belonging to other groups.
With this, AlugueOn and Lug should consolidate as a new business unit of the company.
The plan for 50 shopping malls by 2026
The investment in technology is happening in parallel with the growth plan. The AD Group aims to reach 50 shopping malls by 2026, including acquisitions, new projects, and management contracts. To achieve this, it has allocated R$ 330 million for investments.
Today, the company manages 44 shopping malls, 16 of which are owned by the company, with 6,200 stores spread across the five regions of the country and an annual circulation of approximately 225 million consumers. These include shopping centers such as Shopping Tatuapé (São Paulo), São Luís Shopping (Maranhão), ViaShopping (Belo Horizonte), Shopping ABC (Santo André), and Shopping Jardim Oriente (São José dos Campos). In 2025, sales from the group's shopping centers totaled R$ 7.5 billion.
The expansion includes the acquisition of stakes in two shopping malls in the city of São Paulo, negotiations that should be concluded by March, in addition to the addition of two developments in Rio de Janeiro under its management, which will add approximately 120,000 m² of GLA — a 10% increase in the area available for new stores.
In terms of quantity, the company is second only to Allos, which has 55 shopping malls. Argoplan , the third largest administrator in Brazil, created in June of last year from the merger of Argo and Replan, currently has 32 shopping malls. Multiplan owns 20 shopping centers, and Iguatemi, 15.
The AD Group's expansion plan includes acquiring a stake in two shopping malls in the city of São Paulo, a deal expected to be finalized by March.
Furthermore, two shopping malls in Rio de Janeiro will be transferred to the group's management. With this, the company should gain at least 120,000 m² of GLA (Gross Leasable Area), which will represent a 10% growth in space for new stores.
Of the total investment, R$ 180 million will be allocated to a greenfield project in Primavera do Leste, Mato Grosso. The shopping mall will have 20,000 m² of gross leasable area (GLA), with construction scheduled to begin in the second half of the year and an estimated opening by the end of 2028.
