Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, announced Thursday its boldest push yet into artificial intelligence, unveiling a suite of “super agents” designed to overhaul customer experience, streamline operations, and keep pace with e-commerce rivals like Amazon.
The four AI-powered agents—each tailored for shoppers, store associates, business partners, and developers—will soon become Walmart’s primary platform for all digital interactions, the company said. This move consolidates several existing tools and brings new capabilities, as Walmart eyes a goal for e-commerce to comprise half its total sales within five years. Annual revenues at the retailer reached $648 billion last year.
Walmart hopes that advanced AI will not only personalize shopping, offer smarter product suggestions, and handle returns, but also improve delivery times and automate a range of internal processes. The retailer is counting on these enhancements to lure more digital shoppers and sellers just as Amazon is ramping up its own AI toolkit.
One such agent, known as Sparky, is already assisting customers via the Walmart app, delivering product recommendations and summarizing reviews. With upgrades, Sparky will be able to automate reorders, organize themed events, and even deploy computer vision to suggest recipes based on fridge contents, explained Walmart’s U.S. Chief Technology Officer Hari Vasudev.
The “super agent” lineup includes tailored solutions for staff. Associates will soon have access to an internal agent for administrative tasks, such as leave applications and instant sales data retrieval. Presently, Walmart’s workforce manages these tasks through disparate AI systems, but the new architecture seeks to centralize and accelerate these functions.
Suppliers, sellers, and advertisers can expect “Marty,” an agent that will simplify onboarding, manage inventory, and handle advertising campaigns. The “Developer” super agent will serve as the backbone for future AI initiatives, streamlining the development and deployment of Walmart’s proprietary digital tools.
Suresh Kumar, Walmart’s global chief technology officer, said the move comes as customers increasingly rely on AI, signaling readiness for deeper online engagement. While Walmart did not comment directly on potential job reductions, executives suggested that automation will open up new types of roles within the company.
