- Walmart has continued to grow its cloud infrastructure that supports many of the GenAI tools customers enjoy today. Some GenAI tools Walmart has recently introduced include a search tool, a shopping assistant, and exit technology.
Walmart is not only the top Fortune 500 company when it comes to revenue. The retailing behemoth is also paving the way in using artificial intelligence to make shopping easier for customers.
“Generative AI is now creating a big push internally within Walmart of how we think about customer experiences,” Anil Madan, senior vice president of cloud and data platforms at Walmart Global Tech, said in a March 2024 podcast. “The technology with both the cloud and data coming together in a powerful way is helping us create experiences that were not possible about a decade back.”
Although many companies tout AI implementation, Walmart is one of the few large retailers that has found ways to use the technology for more than just transactions.
One of the more recent developments in Walmart’s cloud-powered AI include a GenAI-powered search tool to help customers more quickly find relevant products they’re searching for. Madan uses the example of hosting a family gathering. Customers can tell Walmart’s GenAI search tool the details of their event, and the cloud-powered technology will suggest items from food to decor. Walmart customers can also use a voice order feature, which allows them to pair their accounts to smart speakers and mobile devices.
This is made possible by tracking both online and in-store purchases by customers. Each of these purchases produces data that can inform suggestions for other customers. Ja-Naé Duane, an academic director at Brown University’s School of Engineering, calls this Walmart’s shift from transactional retail to cognitive commerce.
“Customers aren’t just finding products, they’re being understood,” Duane told Fortune. “Whether it’s voice orders or GenAI search, AI is quietly turning shopping into a more intelligent, more seamless experience.” Duane is also the author of SuperShifts: Transforming How We Live, Learn, and Work in the Age of Intelligence.
Walmart’s data transformation and AI tools are powered by its “triplet model,” one of the largest multi-hybrid clouds that consists of two vendor-provided clouds and one private cloud that work together in three locations across the U.S.: East, West, and Central, Madan said. The company also has “edge clouds” that are located in stores.
These help the company “start looking at best of innovation across both public-cloud provided, as well as open-source, and connecting them at scale for innovation as well as cost,” Madan said.
Duane called this method “intellifusion,” where the cloud and AI are merged into the company’s core nervous system.
“Few legacy retailers are moving this fast at scale,” Duane said. “It’s not digital transformation—it’s strategic reinvention.”
The company last year also introduced Element, a machine-learning platform to help data scientists, data engineers, ML engineers, and application developers make AI development more efficient. Teams have deployed Element across multiple clouds and regions, and the platform has helped developers at Walmart produce better AI tools, faster.
“Element has significantly helped individuals and teams reduce time spent with external vendors or in evaluating multiple commercial and open-source tools,” according to Walmart, and “time spent to operationalize models has reduced from a couple of weeks in the past to under an hour.”
Walmart is also expanding its beta testing of a GenAI-powered shopping assistant that customers can talk to about their purchases.
Customers can ask the shopping assistant either on Walmart.com or in the Walmart app specific use cases, like “What’s a good gift for a five-year-old boy?” The shopping assistant will make recommendations across categories, from clothing totoys.
Meanwhile, Sam’s Club—the membership-only store owned by Walmart—has also deployed at 120 stores an AI-powered exit technology called Scan & Go that allows customers to shop, scan, and pay as they go. At the exit, they walk under a blue archway that verifies their receipt.
“Walmart has recently taken AI and cloud adoption to a new level by leveraging multi-cloud strategies and generative AI to optimize everything,” Martin Balaam, cofounder and CEO of product information management software company Pimberly told Fortune.
Walmart’s massive tech adoption is also helping it win with young and affluent shoppers who enjoy the company’s shopping experience.
“While other major retailers like Amazon and Target are integrating AI, Walmart’s scale and comprehensive focus on operational efficiency in so many facets of the business set it apart,” Balaam said.