Walmart partners with Google Gemini on shopping tool

Incoming Walmart CEO John Furner and Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced that the companies have teamed up on stage at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show, an annual industry conference held at New York City’s Javits Center.

The CEOs did not say when the new feature will launch or share financial terms. The company said the experience will start first in the U.S. and then expand internationally.

With the Google deal, Walmart is boosting its effort to keep up with customers who are using AI chatbots to save time or look for inspiration. Walmart announced a deal with a rival to Gemini, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, in October to allow shoppers to make purchases with “Instant Checkout,” a feature that allows them to buy an item without leaving the AI chatbot. OpenAI recently launched that feature with Walmart and it has Instant Checkout deals with other retailers, including Etsy and several Shopify merchants like Skims, Vuori and Spanx.

Walmart also has its own AI chatbot, a yellow smiley-faced assistant on its app called Sparky.

“The transition from traditional web or app search to agent-led commerce represents the next great evolution in retail,” Furner said in a news release. “We aren’t just watching the shift, we are driving it.”

In his remarks on stage, Furner, who will step into Walmart’s top role on Feb. 1, said Walmart is “rewriting the retail playbook” and, with AI, it’s “trying to close the gap between I want it and I have it.”

Pichai said that Google is excited to work with Walmart and described the adoption of AI as a “transformative” moment.

For Walmart, the evolution of customers’ shopping habits — such as searches that start in an AI chatbot rather than its own app or website — is reshaping the retailer’s digital strategy. In a statement, David Guggina, Walmart U.S.’s chief ecommerce officer, said agentic AI “helps us meet customers earlier in their shopping journey and in more places.”

“Over time, these agents will make it easier for customers to find what they need, want and love,” he said.

Walmart leaders have also been vocal about how AI will change the workforce and employees’ roles, comments that carry additional weight as the company is the largest private employer in the U.S.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, who is retiring and will be succeeded by Furner, has spoken about the sweeping impact of the technology, saying that “it’s very clear that AI is going to change literally every job.”