Walmart preparing to welcome its next customer: The AI shopping agent

AI bots, able to perform tasks autonomously, have the potential to transform online shopping

- Isabelle Bousquette

Walmart is preparing for sweeping changes in the way consumers shop, investigating how to make products appealing not just to human consumers, but also to the AI agents that will one day shop on their behalf.

Already, AI has already changed the way consumers research products on search engines, with results now serving up AI-generated summaries. But the idea of shopping agents operating without human intervention is another thing entirely.

At some point in the future, shoppers will deploy an agent, like OpenAI's Operator, and tell it they want to restock on groceries or buy a new flat-screen TV. Operator will then scan the internet and surface relevant products based on what it knows about the user's preferences. Ultimately, agents will even be able to complete the purchase, including payment.