Walmart’s OpenAI Partnership Revolutionizes Retail - And Investors Are Flocking In
Walmart just dropped a retail bombshell that's shaking up both shopping aisles and stock portfolios.
The AI Shopping Revolution
Forget everything you knew about traditional retail. Walmart's partnership with OpenAI isn't just another tech collaboration - it's a fundamental reinvention of how consumers interact with stores. The retail giant is deploying cutting-edge AI to streamline everything from product discovery to checkout, creating an experience so seamless it makes traditional shopping feel like ancient history.
Wall Street Takes Notice
While shoppers enjoy the convenience, investors are watching the bottom line. Early adoption metrics show unprecedented engagement rates, suggesting this could be the catalyst that finally bridges the gap between physical and digital retail. The market response has been immediate and decisive - proving that in today's economy, technological innovation isn't just nice to have, it's the difference between market leadership and obsolescence.
Of course, the real question for finance types: Will this actually move the needle on Walmart's massive revenue base, or is it just another shiny object to distract from quarterly earnings pressure? Either way, the retail landscape will never be the same.
Image source: Walmart.
What Walmart is doing with OpenAI
Following in the footsteps of e-commerce companies likeand, Walmart will also start using ChatGPT's "Instant Checkout" feature.
With instant checkout on ChatGPT, shoppers can search for a product using the AI chatbot and buy it from Walmart through the chat interface. Let's say you ask ChatGPT for the best gas grill under $500. Once it gives you its recommendation, it will give you the option to buy it from Walmart, assuming Walmart sells it.
CEO Doug McMillon touted the new partnership, saying, "For many years now, e-commerce shopping experiences have consisted of a search bar and a long list of item responses. That is about to change. There is a native AI experience that is multimedia, personalized and contextual."
In addition to instant checkout, Walmart is also using ChatGPT internally with its employees, training them for OpenAI certifications.
An advantage over Amazon
The instant checkout partnership also gives Walmart an edge over Amazon, which is a partner of Anthropic, a competing AI start-up into which it has invested $8 billion, giving it an estimated 15% to 19% ownership of Anthropic.
Anthropic could eventually introduce a similar feature for its AI chatbot Claude, but Claude's user base is much smaller than ChatGPT's, and its focus tends to be different, as it's known for being able to handle larger documents and provide in-depth analysis.
It's unclear how significant the partnership will be for Walmart, but the stock jumped on the news, gaining 5% on Oct. 14 when it was announced.
McMillon is correct that it's past time for the online shopping experience, and searching easily through ChatGPT could be transformative. Keep an eye on how Instant Checkout performs, as it could move the needle even for a company the size of Walmart.
