Walmart says customers will soon be able to use ChatGPT to shop

ChatGPT is teaming with Walmart.

The nation’s largest retailer announced a new partnership Tuesday with OpenAI, aimed at helping shoppers make purchases using the tech startup's chatbot app.

“For many years now, eCommerce shopping experiences have consisted of a search bar and a long list of item responses. That is about to change,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in a statement.

It was unclear Tuesday what the terms of the Walmart-AI partnership would be. The announcement also did not say when shoppers can expect to see ChatGPT integrated with their Walmart online shopping experiences, only that it’s coming “soon.”

The OpenAI announcement is part of a broader push by Walmart, the biggest private employer in the U.S., to incorporate AI into its daily operations.

In the race to capture the market of AI-driven online commerce, Walmart and its AI shopping chatbot Sparky are playing catch-up somewhat behind rival Amazon and its Rufus shopping assistant. Rufus was unveiled in February 2024, while Walmart’s Sparky debuted in June.

There are concerns, too, despite rapid growth in AI-assisted shopping adoption. The technology remains vulnerable to glitches like recommending completely off-the-mark products.

Online privacy advocates also caution that shopping with AI assistants could give retailers even more information about consumers than they already collect.

The Walmart collaboration, likewise, is the latest in a flurry of new deals for OpenAI, which has announced long-term partnerships in recent weeks with several of the biggest AI and chip companies.

These deals have largely been structured as circular investments, where money flows back and forth between the same handful of companies. This has led some analysts to warn that increasingly insular investments could serve to mask weaknesses within the giants driving the AI boom.

Partnerships with outside companies like Walmart could help to allay some of those fears.

“We’re excited to partner with Walmart to make everyday purchases a little simpler. It’s just one way AI will help people every day under our work together,” Sam Altman, the co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, said in a statement.

The partnership could also serve OpenAI by introducing ChatGPT to a massive set of consumers who may not be as accustomed to using AI chats in their shopping as OpenAI’s core user base.

“There is a native AI experience coming that is multi-media, personalized and contextual,” said Walmart's McMillon.