Walmart and OpenAI together announced a partnership that will allow consumers and loyalty members to shop at the retailer through the generative AI platform ChatGPT.
In the Oct. 14 announcement, Walmart referred to the partnership as “ushering in the next generation of retail.” It said it’s combining its assortment and delivery speed “with the power of AI” in a statement announcing its partnership with OpenAI.
“For many years now, eCommerce shopping experiences have consisted of a search bar and a long list of item responses. That is about to change,” said Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Walmart Inc., in a statement. “There is a native AI experience coming that is multi-media, personalized and contextual. We are running towards that more enjoyable and convenient future with Sparky and through partnerships including this important step with OpenAI.”
Walmart is No. 2 in the Top 2000. The database is Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of North America’s online retailers by their annual ecommerce sales.
Walmart is also No. 8 in the Global Online Marketplaces. That database ranks the top such marketplaces by third-party gross merchandise value (GMV).
How Walmart is using ChatGPT
Walmart said it’s working with OpenAI’s ChatGPT to allow consumers to plan meals, restock household items and find new products.
“Customers can simply chat and buy,” Walmart said.
Walmart will also use ChatGPT’s “instant checkout” experience to complete purchases.
“This is agentic commerce in action: where AI shifts from reactive to proactive, from static to dynamic,” Walmart said in the statement. “It learns, plans and predicts, helping customers anticipate their needs before they do.”
The retailer noted that both Walmart and Sam’s Club use AI across their businesses. It said AI use is not simply about moving fast but doing so with purpose. Walmart said it has used AI to enhance its product catalog, reduce fashion production timelines and cut customer care resolution times.
A month prior to this partnership announcement, Walmart had announced a certification program using OpenAI. In July, it also announced its rollout of four AI “super agents” that it expects to play key roles. Among them is Sparky, which McMillon noted in the October announcement.
Sparky is a customer shopping agent embedded in the Walmart app with upcoming features including agentic commerce functions, “reordering, seamless support and shopping that feels even more effortless.”
“Over the next year, the super agents will become a more visible part of the Walmart ecosystem, even as we continue building more specialized agents that live within them — like an agent for our People team, advanced customer care agents and more,” according to Suresh Kumar, global chief technology officer and chief development officer at Walmart.