Walmart is teaming up with OpenAI to let users shop directly through ChatGPT. The partnership will allow customers to browse and purchase items from the retailer’s catalog using the popular chatbot. According to CNN, the feature will launch this fall and represents ChatGPT’s biggest shopping partnership to date.
New Shopping Experience Rolls Out
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said the current online shopping experience relies on a search bar and long item lists. That is about to change with AI’s ability to provide personalized answers and multimedia content. The new feature will offer an extensive list of Walmart items, plus clothing, entertainment, and food from third-party sellers. Sam’s Club products will become available soon after the initial launch.
How the Technology Works
Walmart will use OpenAI’s Instant Checkout tool. This tool lets users buy items directly through ChatGPT without leaving the chat interface. OpenAI has similar partnerships with Etsy and plans to add Shopify-powered companies like Skims and Vuori. But the Walmart deal marks the largest retail collaboration for the chatbot so far.
Competition and Market Impact
The partnership helps Walmart advance its AI efforts. The retailer launched Sparky, a personal shopping tool, in 2025. That came more than a year after Amazon launched its AI shopping assistant Rufus. Tech companies have announced hundreds of billions of dollars in AI investments, from data centers to chip orders. Critics have raised concerns about whether the industry is making money, even as stock prices rise.
Walmart did not disclose financial terms of the OpenAI deal. The company’s stock rose nearly 3% following the announcement Tuesday. A Walmart spokesperson told CNN that the fall launch will mark the beginning of a new way for customers to interact with the retailer’s vast product catalog through conversational AI.
