Walmart (WMT.N), opens new tab unveiled plans on Thursday to roll out a suite of AI-powered “super agents” designed to improve the shopping experience for customers and streamline operations.
The world’s largest retailer said the four agents powered by agentic AI – designed for Walmart shoppers, store employees, suppliers and sellers, and software developers – would soon be the primary way people engage with Walmart.
The super agents will be the entry point for every AI interaction these groups have with Walmart, replacing several existing agents and AI tools, along with new ones yet to be built, the company said. Walmart is betting on AI to drive its e-commerce growth, aiming for online sales to account for 50% of its total sales within five years. The company reported annual sales of $648 billion last year.
By harnessing AI to streamline the shopping process – from discovering new products and helping with returns to improving delivery speeds – the retailer hopes it can attract more shoppers away from Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab, which has also introduced a range of AI-powered tools for sellers and shoppers.
Walmart’s push comes as the short-term financial payoff of AI remains uncertain and concerns over how it might affect jobs across the industry.
One of the agents, Sparky, is already available for shoppers on Walmart’s app as a Gen-AI powered tool. Currently it assists customers with getting product suggestions for an athletic activity, finding the right ink for their printer, or summarizing product reviews, among other options.
In its “super agent” form it will be able to reorder items, plan an event such as a “unicorn-themed party” and through computer vision be able to offer product recipes by just looking at the contents of a shopper’s fridge, Hari Vasudev, Walmart’s U.S. chief technology officer, said at an event in New York.
Agentic AI is the next iteration of generative AI, in that it needs minimal human intervention to make decisions and achieve specific tasks.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/
