Dive Brief:
- Walmart has big plans for generative and agentic AI experiences, and it will continue to work on developing an e-commerce experience that is more relevant and personalized, executives said on a Q3 2026 earnings call Thursday.
- The retailer is building a multimodal experience that incorporates voice, text and video, according to Doug McMillon, president and outgoing CEO. Ads will still be present, but in a more contextual form that aims to recommend relevant items or add value to a purchase.
- John Furner, CEO of Walmart U.S., is poised to maintain the company’s AI push as he prepares to take over as companywide CEO in February. “I think it's going to be a really strong enabler, and I think it will take a lot of time and friction out of customers’ lives as they shop with us,” he said on the earnings call.
Dive Insight:
Walmart is making its latest AI push with a strong quarter behind it.
Walmart’s U.S. comparable store sales rose 4.5% year over year in the third quarter of 2026, according to an earnings release. Digital sales were a bright spot, with global e-commerce growth reaching 27% year over year.
Walmart will continue to build toward a digital shopping experience that understands customer intent and anticipates their needs to save them time, according to McMillon.
The retailer plans to use both internal software like the Sparky AI assistant and third-parties like OpenAI’s Instant Checkout feature, which allows customers to purchase Walmart items through ChatGPT.
While the Instant Checkout integration is currently simplistic, that will change in the future, McMillon said. “It will become more immersive, integrated and seamlessly connected experiences that bring Walmart closer to customers in new ways.”
The ChatGPT partnership is a good way for Walmart to expand its e-commerce presence, according to Brad Jashinsky, director analyst at Gartner.
“That's a great way to be able to tap into the millions of users that are going to ChatGPT for shopping advice, especially for those bigger ticket items, and may or may not be considering Walmart,” Jashinsky told CX Dive.
Walmart also plans to use agentic AI to help customers keep track of things they may want to reorder and nudge them about keeping those products on hand, according to Furner.
“There are so many ways that we can serve customers which are very different than where we were five to 10 years ago,” Furner said.
While Walmart highlighted the customer-facing aspects of its AI strategy in its earnings call, the company has been supporting its behind-the-scenes operations with AI as well to improve CX. In June, for example, the retailer rolled out AI tools to 1.5 million store workers for task management and translation support.
