When it comes to the power of AI at retail, Walmart recognizes the fact that the future won’t be defined by AI for its own sake, but by how well AI serves its customers’ needs. The retailer is shedding light on its technology and AI strategy following the release of its new Retail Rewired Report. The report shows the gap between the trust in AI-based recommendations versus those given by an influencer is only shrinking, with 27% of respondents preferring AI suggestions and 24% favoring those from influencers. SVP Tech Strategy & Emerging Tech Desiree Gosby believes this is a profound shift and is happening because AI is helping shoppers with a profoundly personal experience, and the technology can create highly personalized recommendations. According to the report, shoppers are using AI in very functional ways – to compare prices, shipping times and availability, receive alerts on price drops, and to narrow down options. The retailer is focused on using the technology to solve for specific use cases tailored to its business needs, including tasks such as item comparison and shopping journey completion, all within its GenAI-powered shopping assistant. Merchant tools are also getting the agentic AI treatment, automating many time-intensive tasks like entry and analysis, as well as the Trend-to-Product tool that shortens the traditional production timeline for Walmart fashion. “We are exploring agentic systems to further optimize activities across our ecosystem such as associate tasks in our stores, customer shopping journeys online and merchandise planning in our home office,” wrote Hari Vasudev, chief technology officer, Walmart U.S.