Walmart Applying Agentic AI to Optimize In-Store, Marketing Operations

Walmart is accelerating its artificial intelligence strategy to prepare for a future in which personal shopping agents – powered by generative AI – may assist consumers throughout the path to purchase. 

A large part of this effort involves optimizing in-store tools for associates and rethinking marketing to accommodate both human and machine-led shopping using agentic AI.

The retailer is already applying agentic AI — AI systems capable of independent decision-making — within store environments to automate repetitive associate tasks and streamline operations. These agents help free up store staff to focus on more complex, customer-facing responsibilities, enhancing the in-store experience.

“AI has long been highly pervasive throughout our business, and the path to agentic AI has been paved — many of our Gen AI-powered copilot tools are well on their way to becoming assistive agents to fully autonomous agents,” Hari Vasudev, chief technology officer, Walmart U.S., wrote in a corporate blog post.

Marketing Use Cases

Simultaneously, Walmart is developing new advertising pathways to ensure product visibility in a world where digital agents, not people, may be the ones making purchasing decisions. This includes agent-specific SEO and advertising strategies designed to communicate directly with AI systems that shop on behalf of consumers — strategies that will complement, not replace, Walmart’s traditional marketing tactics.