Walmart adds new AI shopping features in time for holidays

Walmart is unveiling six new capabilities of its “Sparky” artificial intelligence shopping agent just as the holiday shopping season kicks off.

Walmart, whose “Muppets”-themed holiday promotion officially begins with its first Black Friday sale Nov. 12 (the retailer also hosted its pre-holiday “Fall Deals” event in October), is launching new features for its AI shopping agent known as Sparky now the calendar reads November.

The new Sparky capabilities are:

• Customers can snap a photo or take a screenshot of a problem (such as a spill on a sweater) or a design feature they want to recreate, upload it, and Sparky can identify what they need, recommend the right products, and help get them delivered in as little as 30 minutes.
• Shoppers can take a picture of a handwritten list or export a digital list from the Notes app and Sparky will find items or suggest alternatives if they are unavailable.
• Walmart recently enhanced its customer app with the new "Shop to Light" tool that helps in-store shoppers find items by telling the store system which product location to light up, and a small LED flashes on the shelf label to help the customer spot it. Now that feature is embedded into Sparky, which can search for an item, pin its aisle on the store map, and then light up the shelf label when the customer arrives.
• Sparky will generate step-by-step recipes and ready-to-buy ingredients, including budgetary limits and dietary preferences.
• Customers can ask Sparky for healthier alternatives to products, such as lower-calorie or sugar items.
• Sparky can recognize customer requests in Spanish or French and respond in that language. This feature is also available in Mexico and Canada.