The surprising ways Walmart is leveraging generative AI

Walmart is no stranger to adopting new technology and embracing change. You can’t become the world’s largest retailer by stubbornly clinging to the idea that “this is the way we do things.” Therefore, there is a lot that other organizations (such as retailers) can learn from Walmart. This is especially true when it comes to generative AI. Walmart has been working hard to integrate generative AI across its business and use innovative technology to improve performance and better serve its customers.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways Walmart is implementing generative AI.

Improved shopping experience

Much of grocery shopping involves purchasing the same items weekly or on a regular basis. Walmart knows this, which is why it introduced voice shopping as an easy way for customers to reorder common items. With Walmart Voice Order service, a customer simply connects her mobile device or home smart speaker to her Walmart account and says out loud what she wants to order. For example, when a customer says, “OK Google, add 12 eggs to her cart,” the system understands the request, identifies the customer’s preferred brand from previous purchases, and adds that item. To do. Pretty cool, right?

There’s also a Text to Shop feature that allows customers to text Walmart and ask them what they want. Using a simple text chat powered by conversational AI technology, customers can search for products, add or remove products from their cart, reorder products, and schedule delivery or pickup.

Walmart is also introducing a new online AI shopping assistant designed to help shoppers find the best products for their needs and plan the perfect event. Whether you want to throw a superhero-themed party for your 6-year-old or find a fun Halloween costume for your teenager, this tool will help you do it without having to do multiple separate searches. , recommend related related products.

Voice assistant for store staff

Customers aren’t the only ones who benefit from generative AI voice assistants. Walmart has introduced a conversational AI called Ask Sam for in-store employees. AI helpers can help co-workers with all kinds of questions, including finding specific products in a store, finding prices, and questions about employees’ work schedules. Again, this can all be answered with simple questions like, “Which aisle is cinnamon in?”

Improving customer service

Most of us are familiar with customer service chatbots, and some of them can be quite frustrating to deal with. But generative AI brings a new level of functionality to chatbots by allowing them to interpret and respond to requests in a more intelligent and human-like way. That’s why companies including Walmart are turning to generative AI to automate certain customer support requests. Since 2020, Walmart says the technology has reduced millions of customer interactions by providing instant answers to questions about returns, order status and more. This real-time conversation feature is available in multiple countries including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Chile, and India.

Automate supplier negotiations

One particularly interesting use case is negotiating with suppliers. Walmart trialled the use of a generative AI chatbot to close deals with 89 suppliers of goods such as shopping carts and other store equipment. Of these suppliers, the chatbot closed deals with 64 percent, reducing costs by an average of 1.5 percent and extending payment terms by 35 days. In fact, 83% of suppliers love chatbot negotiations. This proves that automated negotiations can not only lead to better terms, but also a better experience for vendors.

Empower employees to come up with their own solutions

One thing many business leaders struggle with is deciding where to best use new technologies such as generative AI. So why not teach your employees where it’s best to use it? That’s the approach Walmart is taking by rolling out its generative AI tool, My Assistant, to employees working in corporate facilities. It is published. The hope is that generative AI will reduce the burden of “tedious and repetitive tasks” and give employees more time to focus on the customer experience. It is expected that employees will identify their own practical ways of using this tool in their daily work. So basically, Walmart is crowdsourcing ideas for the use of generated AI from its vast workforce. This is a great way to foster creativity and engage people with new technology.

I think it’s exciting that Walmart is considering how to integrate this innovative technology across its business. That’s something every organization can learn from.

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