Key Points
- Walmart is partnering with OpenAI to allow shopping directly through ChatGPT.
- This is one of the first major, practical consumer applications of generative AI.
- The feature will let users give a shopping list to ChatGPT, which will then fill a Walmart cart.
- The partnership highlights the gap between the grand ambitions of AI and its current, more mundane applications.
Walmart is giving the world one of the first truly practical, everyday uses for generative AI: a more intuitive way to shop. The retail giant has partnered with OpenAI to allow customers to make purchases directly from within ChatGPT.
The new integration is a glimpse into the future of “agentic commerce,” where an AI assistant can handle the tedious parts of online shopping for you. Instead of navigating menus and scrolling through endless product pages, you can simply give ChatGPT your shopping list. For example, you could give it your kid’s back-to-school supply list, and the chatbot will fill a digital Walmart shopping cart for you, ready for instant checkout.
The partnership is a smart move for Walmart, which has a history of adopting new technologies early. It pairs the company’s massive retail operation with ChatGPT’s powerful ability to understand natural language and help people discover new products.
However, the announcement also highlights a growing disconnect in the AI world. While AI companies are making grand promises of transforming the world, their first major business applications are often more mundane. Does online shopping really need to be easier? Is this the revolutionary change that all the multi-billion-dollar AI deals are supposed to be building toward?
Maybe not, but investors are certainly excited. Walmart’s stock jumped on the news, adding tens of billions to its market cap. For now, it seems that even small, practical gains are enough to keep the AI hype train rolling.
