Walmart said it is testing potential uses for generative artificial intelligence (AI). At the company’s recent Shareholders Week, tech executives explained how Walmart is leveraging generative AI across its businesses.
Sherrill Ainhoa, vice president of new businesses and emerging technologies at Walmart Global Tech, said Monday (June 12) that the retailer will have an early-stage in-house initiative that will allow employees to explore and learn new technologies. He said he is rolling out GenAI Playground, a generative AI tool. Generative AI is based on machine learning (ML) and can create new content and ideas such as conversations, stories, images, videos, and music, she noted.
“The main advantage of Playground is that it allows you to try out different GenAI models all in one place, so employees can see the difference in how each model responds to the same prompts. It will be like this,” said Ainhoa. “This is just the latest example of how we are working quickly to bring this disruptive technology within and across Walmart.”
He said the GenAI Playground will allow Walmart employees to explore the capabilities of generative AI without the risk of data breaches or leaks. He said the tool is primarily used for experimentation and the accuracy of the results has not been validated and should be validated before being shared internally or used to inform business decisions. rice field.
Walmart’s chief human resources officer, Donna Morris, said the goal is to unlock employee potential and better serve customers.
“We have some exciting developments on the horizon, including our in-house GenAI capabilities. [email protected] Desktop and mobile apps will be available later this summer. [email protected] is a personalized experience that enables campus employees to manage their careers, financial well-being, employee profiles, learning, teams, hiring and more. We believe our early efforts have laid the groundwork for our next feature as the debate evolves about how to best leverage this technology in the human resources space,” Morris said in a blog post.
Three areas where Walmart hopes to research generative AI include creating content for social media posts. Per company guidelines, employees are encouraged to test it and experiment with different uses to see how the technology improves the quality and efficiency of their work. Morris said employees can also use the technology to enhance their searches for answers about their employment. The database contains information such as employee benefits, enabling employees to respond accurately and quickly. A third application is HR self-service.
“We envision opportunities to drive demand and change, such as increasing employee contributions to 401,000 or updating personal development plans. Our integrated system will save time on these and provide personalized service.” , removing friction and time from the process,” Morris said.
Studies on the impact of GenAI in professional settings have already shown significant productivity gains and increased job satisfaction, she noted.
“This is my belief that when employees are supported by great technology, they can create more challenging and engaging jobs, reach solutions faster, and use their humanity to make a difference. Yes, we believe that over time, our workforce composition will evolve with technology, with a different mix of roles, but ultimately the business as a whole will grow and we will We will have the same or more employees,” he said.
Walmart also recently announced a GenAI tool called Ask Claude, named after the late Claude Harris, Walmart’s first buyer in 1962. This tool helps buyer teams improve efficiency and get the day-to-day research assistance they need to run their business. do their job.
Anshu Bhardwaj, senior vice president of global technology at Walmart, said GenAI tools help buyers automate repetitive tasks, conduct research to find solutions, and act as experts on merchandising fundamentals. Said it would help with searching. She said Ask Claude could run the required weekly business review reports. For example, the tool can provide reasons for sales fluctuations due to promotions, out-of-stocks, or customer preferences.
GenAI tools can also predict demand for specific items due to external factors such as weather and customer behavior. The tool can also provide recommendations to help buyer teams mitigate losses and increase sales.
He said Walmart’s use of GenAI is possible because its technical team is building a base technology platform that can run applications such as Ask Claude and Ask Claude. [email protected] run. She likened her platform, known as Converse, to a Lego base, and added many other blocks on top of it to produce a completely different result.
GenAI is also being used in Walmart’s supply chain division, according to Walmart Chief Financial Officer John Rainey. He said Walmart is reshaping its supply chain and developing a more intelligent and connected omnichannel fulfillment network that will enhance its use of data, intelligent software and automation. Retailers expect improved inventory levels, inventory accuracy, and flow across all fulfillment channels as a result.
The retail giant is also leveraging GenAI to assist online shoppers. Bhardwaj said Walmart.com’s search feature is powered by GenAI. He said smarter search capabilities will help shoppers find products faster. Last-mile delivery drivers also use this technology for more efficient routing.
