- Walmart is giving its corporate employees an AI “assistant” tool to speed up productivity.
- The retailer is embracing AI while other companies limit employees’ use of AI in the workplace.
- The retailer already uses AI in its stores and customer service, and is hoping to leverage AI in its supply chain.
Retail giants like Amazon, Apple, and Samsung have restricted its employees from using AI tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT – but Walmart is embracing it with open arms.
Walmart is expanding AI efforts in its workplace with a new AI “assistant.” It’s one of many generative AI tools the company has already employed across to its 50,000 corporate employees.
The generative AI tool, which includes a “My Assistant” feature, will summarize documents and speed up creating and drafting projects, Walmart’s Chief People Officer Donna Morris and Executive Vice President of New Business and Emerging Technologies Cheryl Ainoa wrote in a blog post.
When reached for comment, a Walmart spokesperson referred Insider to the blog post.
The goal of the app is to free up employees “from monotonous, repetitive tasks, allowing more time and focus for improving the customer/member experience,” per the blog post. It also noted Walmart hopes to implement the AI tool in employee orientations and to assist employees with selecting their annual benefits packages.
Walmart’s provision of generative AI tools to its office workers is one of the ways the big box retailer seeks to integrate AI across the company. In its customer service branch, Walmart has added “Conversational AI” to its chatbots and shopping features, including its Walmart Voice Order and Text to Shop services, which recommend products based on past customer orders.
In-stores, Walmart employees can turn to an “Ask Sam” voice assistant to help them locate items. The retailer’s self-checkout machines are equipped with AI-powered cameras to help detect and prevent theft. The company’s AI endeavors are likely to pick up, as well: Walmart is hiring a senior manager for its conversational AI team who could earn between $168,000 and $252,000 a year.
Walmart’s CEO Doug McMillon recently told shareholders that Walmart would focus on enhancing its use of generative AI to better understand its customers and improve its supply chain. Beyond generative AI, McMillon has been pushing the retailer in a technology-savvy direction, including setting up drone delivery services in some stores.
While some major US companies are torn on whether to embrace generative AI, others are introducing AI into their businesses with caution. Accenture and Goldman Sachs, for instance, are building out and testing their own AI tools in the hopes that the technology can streamline workflows and boost productivity. Tech companies like Meta, Netflix, and the dating app Hinge are willing to pay six-figure salaries to attract generative AI talent.
CEO of Genies, an avatar tool company, previously told Insider that he has been spending more than $2,000 a month on ChatGPT Plus accounts for all his employees, which he claimed is freeing up “hours” worth of work. Meanwhile, more than 20 companies, such as beauty product manufacturer Estée Lauder, consulting giant PWC, and workflow automation platform Zapier have signed up as early beta users of OpenAI’s ChatGPT Enterprise – a version of ChatGPT launched on Monday that is tailored for businesses to use.
While the Chief People Officer and EVP of Walmart addressed the limitations of generative AI in the blog post, they believe the benefits will outweigh them.
“Here’s our belief: It will take both people and technology to deliver on our purpose to help people save money and live better,” the blog post read.
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