Walmart's new AI shopping tools: What customer support teams should prep for this holiday season
Walmart rolled out AI-powered experiences across its app, stores, delivery network, and support channels ahead of the holidays. Shoppers can find store-specific deals, get in-aisle directions to items from an online search, and sort wish lists by aisle. Walmart says customers who use the app in-store spend 25% more on average than those who don't, which means more engagement-and more questions-coming your way.
What's new on the shopper side (and likely to hit your queue)
- Store-specific deals in the Walmart app: customers will ask why a deal appears (or doesn't) at their current location.
- Search online, navigate in-store: expect "I can't find the aisle" or "directions don't match my store" tickets.
- Wish lists sortable by aisle: watch for syncing issues between devices and questions about out-of-stock substitutions.
- Sparky (AI assistant) event planning: curated lists for parties may prompt "missing items," "budget constraints," or "dietary swaps" requests.
- AI audio summaries for 1,000+ premium beauty products: customers may ask how summaries are generated or why reviews were summarized a certain way.
- Shop the Background (AI + AR): clicking décor or furniture in images to add to cart-expect "item not adding" or "what's that piece?" questions.
- Dynamic Showroom: swapping furnishings in virtual spaces-look out for compatibility, dimensions, and delivery timing issues.
Generative AI in Walmart's support stack: what it can handle
Walmart's Customer Support Assistant combines intent detection, sentiment analysis, and automated actions across chat and voice. It can locate orders, process returns, and provide delivery updates. The big impact areas: faster first responses, higher self-service resolution, and tighter routing to human agents for edge cases.
- Map top intents: WISMO, returns/exchanges, item location, deal eligibility, AR features not working, app navigation.
- Set confidence thresholds: auto-resolve high-confidence intents; handoff with full context on low-confidence or negative sentiment.
- Keep knowledge current: sync store hours, aisle mappings, and deal rules daily to prevent outdated answers.
- Guardrails: clearly state when summaries come from product descriptions and reviews; avoid medical/skin claims for beauty.
- Voice parity: ensure voice flows mirror chat for order lookup and returns to reduce channel bounce.
Delivery and post-purchase: minute-level ETAs are coming
Walmart is piloting real-time delivery estimates with to-the-minute windows, with a full rollout targeted by the end of 2025. New AI models will also help store teams manage deliveries more efficiently. Expect higher expectations on ETA accuracy and proactive status updates.
- Update macros for precise ETAs: reflect minute-level windows where available; avoid promising specificity in regions not yet enabled.
- Proactive comms: trigger notifications on delays and exceptions to cut inbound WISMO volume.
- Return flows: streamline instant label creation and status checks; surface refund timelines upfront.
Playbook: quick moves for support leaders
- Create a "Holiday AI Features" category with subtopics for app deals, in-store directions, wish lists, AR shopping, event planning, and delivery ETAs.
- Draft short explainer scripts for agents on how AI summaries are produced and how Sparky builds event lists.
- Instrument containment rate, deflection, and handoff reasons for the Customer Support Assistant; review daily during peak weeks.
- Spin up a live "store exceptions" doc: known aisle mismatches, layout changes, and temporary out-of-stocks.
- Set escalation paths for AR/visual issues to product teams with device/OS logs baked into the form.
Metrics to watch this season
- Containment rate for top intents (WISMO, returns, item location)
- First contact resolution and average handle time across chat and voice
- Self-service resolution time for AI-led flows
- CSAT by feature: in-aisle directions, AR "Shop the Background," event planning with Sparky
- Return cycle time (initiation to refund)
Industry context: why this matters for every support org
Few multibrand retailers have made similar moves. Gartner data shows only a small share offer AI review summaries or AI shopping assistants, while nearly two-thirds of consumers expect to use generative AI in their holiday shopping, according to Accenture. That gap is your opportunity to reduce effort, speed up help, and meet shoppers where they are.
See broader consumer AI adoption trends.
Level up your team's AI skills
If you're building or tuning a support assistant, skill up your team on prompt design, intent mapping, and safe automation. A fast way to get started is exploring role-focused learning paths.
The takeaway is simple: shoppers will hit your support channels with higher expectations and lower patience. Put clear scripts, tight handoffs, and real-time data at the front line, and let your AI assistant handle the busywork so agents can focus on judgment calls.
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