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Leigh Helsel and Joseph Ours shared insights on how Walmart is using AI and agentic technology to compete in the evolving retail landscape.
The IT Brew article, “Inside Walmart’s AI strategy,” explores how the retail giant has transformed from a late adopter in e-commerce to a leader in AI deployment across its operations. Both provided analysis on the strategic implications of Walmart’s technology investments.
Leigh Helsel, partner at Centric Consulting, noted the shift in retail’s technology focus. “E-commerce was a big thing,” she said. “Now, it’s all about conversational commerce and enabling that, most notably through AI.”
Helsel highlighted Walmart’s strategic use of technology to compete with Amazon, while also benefiting customers and associates. “They work in an industry with a lot of razor-thin margins, and they believe in giving up the best price to the customers,” she explained. “They have to leverage technology and AI to enable workflows to keep supply chain costs down.”
Joseph Ours, director of AI solutions at Centric Consulting, highlighted the broader competitive imperative behind Walmart’s AI investments. “Walmart learned early on that no matter what company you are, no matter what business you’re in, you’re a tech company, and you have to treat tech as an investment, not as a cost center,” he said.
Ours explained that Walmart’s aggressive pursuit of AI agents isn’t just innovation for innovation’s sake; it’s a competitive requirement. He noted that leveraging agents has become essential for companies to remain viable and competitive, which explains why Walmart is taking a leadership position in retail AI deployment.
The article examines Walmart’s deployment of AI “super agents” including Sparky for shoppers, Wibey for developers, and Marty for suppliers, along with the retailer’s OpenAI partnership that could enable shopping within ChatGPT.
