Walmart — Yes Walmart — Ready to Bet Big on AI

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is not the first company that pops into mind when thinking of stocks betting big on artificial intelligence (AI). Yet In an unexpected turn of events, the retail giant that is synonymous with everyday low prices and sprawling supercenters, is making a bold leap into the future with AI. 

Walmart recently unveiled two ambitious AI initiatives that signal a transformative shift in its business model. Two standout moves — the introduction of the AI-powered “Ask Sparky” assistant in its mobile app and the deployment of an AI interview coach for job applicants — demonstrate Walmart’s commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology. It previously introduced a genAI-powered assistant for Walmart Merchants.

Far from being just a brick-and-mortar retailer, Walmart is positioning itself as a tech-savvy innovator, aiming to enhance customer experiences and empower its workforce.

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The “Ask Sparky” feature is a generative AI assistant integrated into the Walmart mobile app. With its cheerful smiley-face design, Sparky synthesizes product reviews and offers occasion-based recommendations, such as optimal outfits for a beach trip based on weather forecasts or sports schedules. This tool goes beyond simple search functions, promising future capabilities like automatic reordering of household essentials and service bookings. 

By training Sparky with decades of Walmart data via its proprietary Wallaby platform — a series of retail-specific large language models — the company ensures highly contextual, tailored responses. 

This move taps into the growing demand for personalized shopping experiences, especially among younger consumers who value convenience and relevance. It also aligns with Walmart’s “Adaptive Retail” strategy, unveiled last October, which aims to meet customers wherever they are, including immersive commerce via augmented reality.

Getting the Job Done

Simultaneously, Walmart is also revolutionizing its hiring process with AI tools designed to support job applicants. Announced earlier this month on the company’s corporate website, the new AI-powered interview coach simulates realistic interviews with up to 10 questions, scoring responses on a 1-10 scale and providing instant feedback on structure, clarity, and confidence. 

Currently piloted with associates, this tool aims to level the playing field for candidates who might struggle with interviews despite strong qualifications. Paired with a skills-matching tool and a job simulator for veterans, these innovations reflect Walmart’s broader Associate to Technician (A2T) program, which has already graduated 108 associates in a Dallas-Fort Worth pilot. 

By investing in employee development, Walmart not only strengthens its workforce but also enhances its reputation as an employer of choice. It plans to eventually roll out the tool to external job applicants as well.

Driving Customer and Employee Loyalty and Sales

These AI initiatives carry significant implications. For customers, Sparky promises to streamline shopping, potentially increasing loyalty and sales as personalized recommendations drive purchases. 

The ability to process text, image, audio, and video inputs — alo set to roll out soon — could position Walmart ahead of competitors like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and IKEA, who are also exploring AI. The retail king’s grocery-buying app is already more intuitive than Amazon’s, which often sends you to two different stores, the main Amazon Prime platform and Amazon Fresh. It is a clunky process that makes Walmart’s integrated system more convenient.

For job seekers, the interview coach reduces barriers to entry, potentially expanding Walmart’s talent pool. However, challenges loom.

The success of Sparky depends on data accuracy and user adoption, while the interview tool must avoid bias to maintain fairness. 

Key Takeaway

Walmart’s AI bet is a strategic pivot, blending its retail dominance with technological innovation. With plans to expand Sparky to Canada and Mexico by year-end, the company is setting a new standard in global retail.

For investors and consumers alike, this evolution suggests Walmart is not just surviving but thriving in a digital-first world. Yes, Walmart — the name once tied to aisles of cereal — is now a frontrunner in AI, and its journey to becoming very much a tech stock continues.

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