Walmart fully embraces generative AI

Walmart corporate employees are getting an AI “assistant” tool to speed up productivity, while other retail giants like Amazon, Apple, and Samsung have limited or restricted its use within the workplace, reports Business Insider. 

Walmart’s expansion of its AI efforts in the workplace includes a rollout of a new AI “assistant” — one of many generative AI tools in use — across 50,000 corporate employees. The tool’s “My Assistant” feature will summarize documents and speed up projects according to a blog post by Walmart's chief people officer Donna Morris and executive vice president of new business and emerging technologies Cheryl Ainoa.

The goal of the app is to free up employees “from monotonous, repetitive tasks, allowing more time and focus for improving the customer/member experience,” per a blog post on LinkedIn. The retailer also hopes to implement the AI tool during employee orientations to assist with the selection of benefits packages for example. 

Walmart’s customer services teams are already integrating AI across the company with “Conversation AI” chatbots and shopping features, including Walmart Voice Order and Text to Shop services (which recommend products based on past orders). 

Inside the retail store, Walmart’s employees can also “Ask Sam,” a voice assistant to help them locate items. The self-checkout machines are equipped with AI-powered cameras to detect and prevent theft, and Walmart’s AI endeavors look like they may increase with pending new hires for conversational AI specialists. 

Additionally, Walmart’s CEO Doug McMillon recently told shareholders that Walmart would focus on enhancing its use of generative AI to better understand its customers and improve its supply chain, also pushing its technology savviness with drone delivery services in some stores. 

While the blog post addresses the possible challenges of generative AI, Morris and Ainoa both believe that the benefits will outweigh the limitations. They added that it will “take both people and technology to deliver on our purpose to help people save money and live better,” it said.

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Walmart’s expansion of its AI efforts in the workplace includes a rollout of a new AI “assistant” — one of many generative AI tools in use — across 50,000 corporate employees. The tool’s “My Assistant” feature will summarize documents and speed up projects. The goal of the app is to free up employees “from monotonous, repetitive tasks, allowing more time and focus for improving the customer/member experience,” said Walmart. What do you think about using AI to help manage monotonous office tasks? Positive? Negative? Let us know.

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