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Diving briefs:
- Walmart has linked AI-powered tools to 1.5 million U.S., with the goal of providing workers with more support and helping customers in real time, the retailer announced Tuesday. The new tools will be integrated into the Walmart Associate app.
- The tool includes real-time translation capabilities that can facilitate multilingual conversations between associates and customers in 44 languages. This feature supports both text-to-text formats and includes Walmart-specific knowledge, such as recognizing the term “big value” as a retailer's private brand.
- Retailers will also be upgrading existing conversational AI for associates over the coming months. This tool says, “How can I process returns without receipts?”
Dive Insights:
Walmart is one of many retailers who place generative AI apps directly in the hands of Associates to streamline workdays and enhance customer service.
Walmart Associates already has experience with conversational AI tools. According to the company, more than 900,000 workers use the feature every week, with over 3 million queries in total daily.
Retailers are also implementing AI-driven task management. This uses technology to prioritize and recommend tasks to associates. Early results have led to time store managers reducing plans for overnight stocking shifts, while retailers piloting tools for shifts other than stockings.
Walmart has been experimenting with generator AI for two years with the goal of encouraging associates to use technology every day. Retailers' previous semi-directed AI implementations helped stock up, help workers spend more time with customers, and helped drive higher NPs during the 2023 holiday season.
Earlier this month, Walmart introduced AI for customers through Sparky, an automated assistant designed to help customers by summarizing reviews and purchase purchases.
Walmart is one of the retailers at the forefront of employee-generated AI integration, but the company is not alone.
Home Depot combines training and AI tools to improve your knowledge of related products and projects. Which executives view this as a key CX differentiator? Last year, Target deployed Associates's own AI assistant, answering process and procedure-related questions.
Other examples include Verizon, where its generative AI assistant said last year that its store peers helped find answers to 95% of customer inquiries, and Associates used ODP personal assistants to answer common questions.
