How Walmart Plans to Scale AI, GenAI, AR, and Immersive Customer Experiences

Walmart has unveiled its strategy to expedite Adaptive Retail for its existing and potential customers. The company has stated that the new era of retail will be defined by profoundly personal experiences bringing shopping to customers in ways they want and need.

The retail giant has revealed its plan to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI), Generative AI (GenAI), Augmented Reality (AR), and Immersive Commerce platforms to create hyper-personalized, easy, and engaging shopping experiences for shoppers across Walmart stores and its virtual environments.

“A standard search bar is no longer the fastest path to purchase; rather, we must use technology to adapt to customers’ individual preferences and needs,” said Suresh Kumar, Global Chief Technology Officer and Chief Development Officer, Walmart Inc. “At the heart of our platform strategy is developing common global core capabilities that are built once and deployed across Walmart U.S., Sam’s Club and Walmart International. As a global company with multiple business segments, this enables us to move with speed as we bring consistent experiences to all our customers and members.”

The hypermarket has recently developed a system of proprietary GenAI platforms to power Gen AI technology to create advanced customer-facing experiences. By leveraging a combination of Gen AI platforms, Walmart has also invested to create a personalized version of its AI-powered customer support assistant. This new AI customer assistant will identify customers from the start and not only understand their intent but also take actions, such as handling returns.

To customize Walmart.com, the supermarket has curated a Content Decision Platform that will serve as a foundational tool to create tailored shopping experiences for customers.

Additionally, Walmart has also developed an AR platform called Retina, which leverages AI, Gen AI, and automation to create 3D assets, along with Immersive Commerce APIs, to meet customers where they require it.