Walmart Leans Into AI to Redefine Its Business
When it comes to the power of AI at retail, Walmart recognizes the fact that the future won’t be defined by AI for its own sake, but by how well AI serves its customers’ needs. The retailer is shedding light on its technology and AI strategy following the release of its new Retail Rewired Report, and in conjunction with its annual Associates Week, being held June 4-6 in Walmart’s hometown of Bentonville, Ark.
The report takes a closer look at how technology is reshaping the way people shop, and has subsequently revealed growing trust in AI-based shopping recommendations. In fact, the gap between the trust in AI-based recommendations versus those given by an influencer is only shrinking, with 27% of respondents preferring AI suggestions and 24% favoring those from influencers.
SVP Tech Strategy & Emerging Tech Desiree Gosby believes this is a profound shift, and is happening because AI is helping shoppers with a profoundly personal experience, and the technology can create highly personalized recommendations.
According to the report, shoppers today are using AI in very functional ways – to compare prices, shipping times and availability, receive alerts on price drops, and to narrow down options. The technology has its limitations, however, with shoppers sharing that they are more comfortable using digital assistants for lower-ticket purchases like household essentials, as opposed to more emotionally significant items like furniture or groceries.
Moreover, shoppers still have a strong desire for human oversight and control, with 46% of respondents saying they were either somewhat unlikely or very unlikely to use a digital assistant or agent to handle an entire shopping trip.
During their journeys to utilize AI, said Gosby, retailers must never lose sight of what consumers really want. They will still always seek out “convenience without compromise, speed without risk, personalization with control and consent,” Gosby shared.
The Future Is Agentic AI
For its part, Walmart recently shared some of its work with agentic AI, which can take actions on behalf of the customers using it. The retailer is focused on using the technology to solve for specific use cases tailored to its business needs, including tasks such as item comparison and shopping journey completion, all within its GenAI-powered shopping assistant.
Merchant tools are also getting the agentic AI treatment, automating many time-intensive tasks like entry and analysis, as well as the Trend-to-Product tool that shortens the traditional production timeline for Walmart fashion.
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“[W]e are exploring agentic systems to further optimize activities across our ecosystem such as associate tasks in our stores, customer shopping journeys online and merchandise planning in our home office,” wrote Hari Vasudev, chief technology officer, Walmart U.S., in a company blog post. “In our Customer Support Assistant, agents are already routing, resolving and, increasingly, acting autonomously to automate the mundane and free associates to focus on more complex tasks.”
Each week, approximately 270 million customers and members visit Walmart’s more than 10,750 stores and numerous e-commerce websites in 19 countries. With FY2025 revenue of $681 billion, the company employs approximately 2.1 million associates worldwide. Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart U.S. is No. 1 on Progressive Grocer’s 2025 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
