Walmart is quietly looking to cash in on AI with its latest move involving Sparky
AI has transformed almost every industry, and its integration into the retail shopping experience is being championed by Walmart. The industry giant has launched Sparky, a generative AI-powered shopping assistant on the Walmart app. Unlike traditional chatbots, Sparky can act on users' behalf by synthesizing product reviews, providing tailored recommendations, and assisting with purchases. Its multimodal capabilities allow it to process text, images, audio, and video. The retail giant has enhanced the shopper experience further by introducing ad slots within the AI-integrated software.
After conducting experiments last fall, the retailer started showing advertisements within Sparky, its AI shopping agent. When users ask for product recommendations, advertisements will show up as sponsored prompts. According to a poll, 81% of consumers have used Sparky to verify product details and availability. “We know it’s an interesting new surface, and we want to be there and experiment in that new surface—even though it’s early days,” Khurrum Malik, VP of business and product marketing for Walmart Connect, told ADWEEK.
Currently focused on online items, Sparky's potential integration with real-time inventory could enhance convenience for shoppers opting for online orders with in-store pickup. As AI tools like Sparky grow in prominence, brands selling on Walmart must focus on customer reviews, digital assortment, and catalog optimization to maintain a strong presence in AI-driven shopping. Clear product descriptions and engaging content are essential for visibility amidst AI-driven discovery. Amazon's AI agent Rufus, which started promotions in 2024, has emerged as a strong contender. To tackle this, Walmart and OpenAI partnered to make ChatGPT shopping an online luxury. The corporation wants to differentiate itself from rivals by utilizing its wide reach, which attracts 150 million weekly customers across 4,600 shops and online.
“If you think about our advertisers, they want simplicity, they want automation, so agentic experiences help there,” Malik said. “We’ve already found that 97% of user queries are unique, a clear sign that advertisers are using the assistant in highly personalized ways,” Walmart Connect announced while introducing an AI assistant called Marty as advertising support. “The advertising assistant will be available to all Sponsored Search advertisers in the Walmart Connect Ad Center later this half, with more enhanced capabilities and insights rolling out along the way,” it explained.
Sponsored search campaigns are being managed by a pilot software for Marty, which also generates performance reports with market share numbers and offers campaign advice on bidding and keywords. Marty serves a variety of bespoke demands, particularly for small and medium marketers, with 97% of searches being unique. It is anticipated to grow into additional ad formats after launching in the first half of this year for all search ad purchasers in Walmart Connect Ad Center.
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