Blog

By Bill Peters

Collaboration will help Walmart gain a bigger technological edge and stand out as retailers try to win over cautious consumers, one analyst says

A new partnership will let consumers buy items sold at Walmart through OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Instant Checkout.

Walmart Inc. was the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s top percentage gainer on Tuesday and closed at a record high, after the big-box chain announced a partnership that will soon allow customers to buy items at the retailer through OpenAI’s artificial-intelligence chatbot ChatGPT.

Shares of Walmart (WMT) finished 4.9% higher on Tuesday.

The partnership between the retail bellwether and OpenAI will let customers and members buy items sold at Walmart through ChatGPT and Instant Checkout, a shopping tool OpenAI introduced late last month.

In a statement, Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon – who said last month that it was “very clear that AI is going to change literally every job” – said the move marked a bigger shift in online shopping.

“For many years now, e-commerce shopping experiences have consisted of a search bar and a long list of item responses,” he said. “That is about to change. There is a native AI experience coming that is multimedia, personalized and contextual.”

AI assistants and other uses of the technology have become more common in e-commerce. A recent Adobe survey of 5,000 U.S. consumers found that more than one-third said they used an AI service to help them with online shopping.

Walmart made the announcement as shoppers continue to struggle with higher prices – and increasingly turn to mass retailers for relief – and as retailers navigate the U.S.-led trade war. Meanwhile, concerns have grown about the astronomical costs to develop AI, as well as consumers’ willingness to pay for it.

Walmart already uses AI in things like customer service and clothing design. UBS analyst Michael Lasser, in a note on Tuesday, said Walmart’s announcement underscored the retailer’s ability to keep pace with trends in technology and shopping.

“Thus, this should provide incrementality and differentiation vs. the rest of retail,” he said.

D.A. Davidson’s Michael Baker, in a note on Tuesday, was also upbeat about the move.

“This supports our view that Walmart will be a winner among traditional retailers in the agentic commerce race,” he said, referring to the digital AI “agents” designed to help humans with tasks.

Jefferies analyst Corey Tarlowe said the announcement “positions Walmart at the forefront of AI-driven retail,” and would make shopping easier while boosting the chain’s sales and margins.

When OpenAI announced Instant Checkout last month, it said U.S. ChatGPT users would be able to make in-chat purchases from domestic Etsy Inc. (ETSY) merchants, with products from sellers on Shopify Inc. (SHOP) to be made available later. At the time, it said shoppers could make single-item purchases on Instant Checkout, with multi-item purchases set to follow.

Shares of Walmart are up 18.7% so far this year.

-Bill Peters

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

  10-14-25 1840ET
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.