Walmart will offer its employees free access to the OpenAI Certification program when it launches in 2026.
The retailer will offer this access to its U.S.-based frontline and office-based employees through its private training program, Walmart Academy, Walmart Chief People Officer Donna Morris wrote in a Thursday (Sept. 4) note sent to those employees and posted online.
OpenAI announced the upcoming launch of the certification program on Thursday.
Walmart will work with the artificial intelligence (AI) startup to develop a version of the program that is tailored to the retailer’s employees, according to Morris’ note.
“This training is designed to help you at work and in your personal life in an increasingly digital world,” Morris told employees in the note.
In the meantime, before the launch of OpenAI’s program, Walmart employees can access AI training and other training opportunities through the retailer’s Live Better U education benefit and can learn more about AI at work at ai.walmart.com, per the note.
When OpenAI announced that it will introduce OpenAI Certification, it said in a blog post that the program will be designed to help businesses ensure that candidates and employees know how to use AI.
The OpenAI program will include tools to help people prepare for the certification, will offer different levels of certification ranging from the basics to prompt engineering and will be able to become part of companies’ own learning and development programs.
OpenAI said in its blog post that Walmart is one of the program’s launch partners.
Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner said in the post that the retailer knows that the future of retail will be defined by not only technology but also people who know how to use it.
“By bringing AI training directly to our associates, we’re putting the most powerful technology of our time in their hands — giving them the skills to rewrite the playbook and shape the future of retail,” Furner said.
Walmart said in June that it introduced AI tools that are available to employees through its associate app. The tools include one that gives associates clear guidance on where to focus their efforts by understanding, prioritizing and recommending tasks; a real-time translation feature that is available in 44 languages and facilitates multi-lingual conversations among employees and customers; and an upgraded conversational AI platform that can answer questions such as, “How can I process a return without a receipt?”
“AI is a key enabler in improving how we work, and we believe its full potential is unlocked only when paired with the strengths of our people,” Greg Cathey, senior vice president for transformation and
Source: https://www.pymnts.com/
