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Companies are investing heavily in AI-powered agents, pointing towards a future where customers' first lines of communication when seeking an answer or wanting to buy something may be a chatbot.
In October, Walmart
announced a deal with OpenAI that will enable shoppers to both find and buy items without leaving ChatGPT. The retailer also now has an AI agent in its app that can answer and recommend products.
On Walmart's earnings call in November, CEO Doug McMillon said agentic AI will be one of the growth drivers for the retailer's e-commerce business. He said the technology will "help people save time and have more fun shopping." In January, Walmart said customers will soon be able to use Google's artificial intelligence assistant Gemini to more easily discover and buy products from the retail giant and its warehouse club, Sam's Club.
