Walmart Prepares for a Future Where AI Shops for Consumers
- Reference: 0177564863
- News link: https://slashdot.org/story/25/05/16/2138230/walmart-prepares-for-a-future-where-ai-shops-for-consumers
- Source link:
> Instead of scrolling through ads or comparing product reviews, future consumers may rely on digital assistants, like OpenAI's Operator, to manage their shopping lists, from replenishing household essentials to selecting the best TV based on personal preferences, according to [2]the report (paywalled). "It will be different," Walmart U.S. Chief Technology Officer Hari Vasudev said, per the report. "Advertising will have to evolve." The emergence of AI-generated summaries in search results has already altered the way consumers gather product information, the report said. However, autonomous shopping agents represent a bigger transformation. These bots could not only find products but also finalize purchases, including payments, without the user ever lifting a finger. [...]
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> Retail experts say agentic commerce will require companies to overhaul how they market and present their products online, the WSJ report said. They may need to redesign product pages and pricing strategies to cater to algorithmic buyers. The customer relationship could shift away from retailers if purchases are completed through third-party agents. [...] To prepare, Walmart is developing its own AI shopping agents, accessible through its website and app, according to the WSJ report. These bots can already handle basic tasks like reordering groceries, and they're being trained to respond to broader prompts, such as planning a themed birthday party. Walmart is working toward a future in which outside agents can seamlessly communicate with the retailer's own systems -- something Vasudev told the WSJ he expects to be governed by industry-wide protocols that are still under development. [...]
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> Third-party shopping bots may also act independently, crawling retailers' websites much like consumers browse stores without engaging sales associates, the WSJ report said. In those cases, the retailer has little control over how its products are evaluated. Whether consumers instruct their AI to shop specifically at Walmart or ask for the best deal available, the outcomes will increasingly be shaped by algorithms, per the report. Operator, for example, considers search ranking, sponsored content and user preferences when making recommendations. That's a far cry from how humans shop. Bots don't respond to eye-catching visuals or emotionally driven branding in the same way people do. This means retailers must optimize their content not just for people but for machine readers as well, the report said. Pricing strategies could also shift as companies may need to make rapid pricing decisions and determine whether it's worth offering AI agents exclusive discounts to keep them from choosing a competitor's lower-priced item, according to the report.
[1] https://www.pymnts.com/news/artificial-intelligence/2025/walmart-prepares-future-where-ai-shops-rather-than-consumers/
[2] https://www.wsj.com/articles/walmart-is-preparing-to-welcome-its-next-customer-the-ai-shopping-agent-6659ef18
How far away are companies (Score:2)
away from getting free will to open and empty their customer's wallets without their explicit permission for each and every transaction.
Will you have to sign a durable power of attorney in order to have their AI purchase things it thinks you need on your behalf?
What happens when it racks up your credit card balance by buying things you didn't need or want because of some bug^h^h^feature?
YesNo (Score:2)
> "These bots could not only find products"
That would be great. It is hard enough finding stuff I want/need.
> "but also finalize purchases, including payments, without the user ever lifting a finger."
Um, no thanks. What could possibly go wrong with THAT.
Downside for retailers? (Score:4, Insightful)
Reduced impulse buying by you and your kids.
Re: (Score:2)
Nah, it will just change the nature of impulse buying. Instead of candy bars and other junk food at the checkout line, the AI will helpfully buy larger, more expensive items under the guise of "based on your shopping history, and the personality profile we've built from spying on you other ways, we think you'll love these products..."
Re: (Score:2)
Not a chance. What will happen instead, is that advertisers will pay to have their products featured prominently by these AI bots. You'll see what the advertisers want you to see, not what you want to see. Same as always. It might even impulse buy FOR you!
Hahaha . . . no (Score:3)
Hell, I don't trust any of the " smart " appliances to be network connected nor do I allow any devices off the local network unless
I give it explicit permission to do so.
I don't use Siri, Cortana or Alexa. I don't trust my phone enough to log in to anything that requires login credentials.
( Will never allow it access to my bank and / or my accounts )
I don't have Smart Lights, Thermostats, door locks, etc. etc.
My home is about a dumb as I can make it because I have trust issues with the companies who create / sell all of these devices
in the first place.
They are not trying to make your life easier, they are trying to learn all they can about you and there is no line they will not cross
in order to make that happen.
That said, I believe I will do my own shopping thanks :D
I would only consider using an AI for this if: (Score:2)
1. If it were supplied by a company other than those which are selling the products to you [conflict of interest]
2. The company providing the AI would have to owe a fiduciary duty to the customer [putting the customer interests first]
3. The company providing the AI would have to have insurance capable of undoing any transaction found to be fraudulent, due to a data breach, program bug, or if the promise of fiduciary duty was broken.
4. There would have to be fine grained permission, spending limit, and auto
maybe not for groceries (Score:1)
> This service probably would never be offered as it wouldn't be lucrative to any company wanting to provide such a service.
I know this story is about groceries and other "consumer items" but the 4 bullet-points you provide are how I envision for AI-assisted investment portfolio management in 10 or 20 years. As for "wouldn't be lucrative," I expect that in at least some countries your second point, fiduciary duty, is or will be required by law. Once that's in place, the other requirements aren't so "non-lucrative" anymore.
Back to shopping for the consumer:
I think the AI-shopping experience will first be marketed as a behind-th
Wal-Mart is how the poor stay poor. (Score:2)
Well, mostly it is mostly uneducated people who shop at Wal-Mart. So why not let an algorithm tell them what poorly made garbage that will fall apart in six to twelve months they should waste their money on. Spend a little more money on a better made product and you only have to buy it once. Or at least significantly less often. Which means you’ll end up saving money in the long run. If it isn’t food or soap and don’t you have more money, wait until you do. You don’t have the object
Re: (Score:2)
The problem with your theory is that that "better made" stuff isn't just a "little" more money, it's a *lot* more money. I say this as a regular Walmart shopper myself.
That $60 carry-on bag at Walmart? Sure, you can get a better-made one somewhere else for $300. But why would I do that? I can buy 5 of the cheap ones for the price of that "well-made" one, and it's not going to last five times as long.
Clothing? I buy $10-15 shirts at Walmart all the time. Why would I pay $60 for a "well-made" shirt at another
Re: Wal-Mart is how the poor stay poor. (Score:2)
Buy higher quality items from Costco instead. They rarely carry crap, or not for very long. The luggage won't cost 5x as much. I have some Kirkland brand luggage that's 25 years old and still going. Except for the cat pee smell I can't get rid of, sigh. Still waiting for the right enzyme formula to be invented. Not even the California sun can get rid of the smell, I hope it will be, which is why I didn't throw away the luggage.
I bought a new Delsey set at Costco recently. French design, but made in Cambodia
I cannot picture this (Score:3)
I prefer to go buy my own stuff. I am somewhat picky and would not appreciate some bot getting things that I think suck.
Re: (Score:2)
Yes, this. I won't even use curbside pickup, because I don't trust the shoppers to pick items that I want.
"redesign product pages" (Score:2)
It will, at least, be entertaining to see a future where constant deceptive advertising now includes prompt injection attacks against various bots as well as misleading photographs and hyperbolic human-readable marketing.
Re: (Score:2)
The "AI shopping bot" from the deceptive advertiser is the injection attack vector.
What the fuck is the point? (Score:2)
I'm running out of reasons to understand why AI is being inserted into everything, and I didn't have any to begin with.
But this seems especially dumb. The current UIs (search for item or use your prior shopping list to pick what you want) work fine. Where would "AI" help? Am I going to ask for Heinz Baked Beans and it'll buy a Ryan Reynolds movie if it can't find baked beans because it's incapable of saying "I don't have an answer for that" and so instead hallucinates a request for movie?
Where is this all g
Re: (Score:2)
Where this is all going is "You will buy this, citizen. Consumption is your duty."
The AI is to reduce your input in the decision-making process. They will reach into your pocket and purchase for you. For your convenience, of course.
I'm reminded of the push in some areas to ban boycotts of Israel. They don't want you to have a choice of who and who not to do business with.
The guys coming up with these ideas have enough money that the idea of spinning off accounts for people and handing them the keys with vag
Re: What the fuck is the point? (Score:2)
Because trillions have been invested in "AI" to his point, and the search for ways they can be put to work and profit is frantic.
Obligatory xkcd (Score:2)
[1]https://xkcd.com/1807/ [xkcd.com]
[1] https://xkcd.com/1807/
Alexa 2.0 (Score:2)
Why doesn't anybody use Alexa anymore? Because Amazon couldn't resist making it all about selling you stuff. Not stuff you wanted, but stuff they want you to want.
AI isn't going to be any different. It's not going to work for YOU, it's going to get paid for by, and work for, the sellers.
automation of buying choices (Score:2)
Where I live there is a relatively nice walmart nearby, and if you paid the walmart annual premium they will pick out the groceries or whatever that you ordered from the website and deliver it to your door. Your recent shopping history is clearly visible and you can just click to get some more of what you usually get. Some unfortunate shmuck will shop it off the shelves for you. Another hard-put person will drive it to your house in their personal vehicle and haul the loot to your front door. Super convenie
Trust (Score:2)
I barely trust myself shopping for things. No way I'm going to trust some badly generated software with that.
Let's see how ChatGPT handles it (Score:2)
This article actually got me curious how close ChatGPT would get to guessing my top #10 grocery items, based on what it "knows" about me. Here's what it came up with:
1. Movie theater-style popcorn
This isn't a frequent purchase for me, as it's far too unhealthy to eat regularly. I'd call this a miss.
2. Taco night essentials
This is genuinely creepy. Yes, my partner and I consider this our go-to meal.
3. Soda or sparkling water
Okay, so it didn't nail the specific brands we tend to purchase, but it's in the b
Target (Score:1)
I bet the AI would prefer shopping at Target, to avoid the unpleasantness of shopping at Walmart.
And I'm preparing for a future (Score:2)
Where I can buy dog food online.
I don't even like buying groceries online because half the time the produce is garbage. This is just more wishful thinking on the part of companies hoping to replace the employees that run the stores.
Then again there's been so much consolidation that these companies can just force it on us if they want. We sure should don't have the cojones to stop them.
Re: (Score:2)
I buy all my dog food online.
Re: (Score:2)
> Where I can buy dog food online.
Since buying dog food online has been a thing for quite awhile, I'm assuming this was your attempt at metaphor that might've gone over better in /r/im14andthisisdeep rather than Slashdot.
Re: (Score:1)
Amazon, just like most anything else.
Pet stores also sell online.