Walmart partners with Google Gemini on shopping tool

Walmart And Google said Sunday that shoppers will soon be able to use Google’s artificial intelligence assistant, Gemini, to more easily discover and purchase products from the retail giant and its warehouse club, Sam’s Club.

New Walmart CEO John Furner and Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced that the companies are teaming up on stage at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show, an annual industry conference held at the Javits Center in New York.

The CEOs did not say when the new feature would launch or share financial terms. The company said the experiment would start first in the United States and then expand internationally.

With the deal with Google, Walmart is doubling its efforts to track customers who use AI chatbots. to save time or seek inspiration. Walmart announced a deal with Gemini rival, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, in October to allow buyers to make purchases with “Instant Checkout”, a feature that allows them to purchase an item without leaving the AI ​​chatbot. OpenAI recently launched this feature with Walmart and offers instant payment deals with other retailers including Etsy and several Shopify merchants like Skims, Vuori and Spanx.

Walmart also has its own AI chatbot, a yellow smiley face assistant on its app called Sparky.

“The transition from traditional web or app search to agent-led commerce represents the next big evolution in retail,” Furner said in a press release. “We don’t just observe change, we drive it.”

In his remarks on stage, Furner, who enter Walmart’s main role on February 1said Walmart is “rewriting the retail playbook” and, with AI, it’s “trying to close the gap between I want it and I have it.”

Pichai said Google was excited to work with Walmart and described the adoption of AI as a “transformative” moment.

For Walmart, changing customer shopping habits — such as searches that start in an AI chatbot rather than its own app or website — are reshaping the retailer’s digital strategy. In a statement, David Guggina, Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce director, said agentic AI “helps us meet customers earlier in their shopping journey and in more places.”

“Over time, these agents will make it easier for customers to find what they need, what they want and what they like,” he said.

Walmart executives have also been vocal about how AI will change the workforce and employee roles, comments that carry added weight given that the company is the largest private employer in the United States.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon who is retiring and will be replaced by Furnerspoke about the far-reaching impact of technology, saying that “it is very clear that AI will literally change every profession. »