The next time you ask ChatGPT for help with an anniversary gift under $20, you will be able to get that relationship-ending picture frame from within that conversation, thanks to a new partnership between Walmart and OpenAI.
Soon, customers will be able to link their Walmart or Sam’s Club accounts to ChatGPT for seamless shopping should the bot that’s writing your work emails include a Walmart item among its suggestions (it will still also list items from other, non-partner places). It’s part of the “agentic commerce” trend, where bots become personal shoppers and the tech companies get a piece of the sale:
- OpenAI recently began allowing products to be purchased in ChatGPT directly from Etsy as part of its “Instant Checkout” program, which will soon also include Shopify.
- Perplexity began offering a similar integration last year with Shopify, Best Buy, and Target.
Investors love it: Walmart stock closed up nearly 5% yesterday.
Walmart’s all-in on AI: In June, the biggest US retailer launched Sparky, its own AI assistant designed to help customers find items on the Walmart website. Despite the narrative of AI taking jobs, Sparky is sticking around despite ChatGPT joining the team.—DL