Walmart's AI Assistant "Sparky" Could Compete with Amazon and Google - Here's Why
Walmart introduced "Ask Sparky," an AI assistant that helps customers find products, synthesize reviews, and get personalized recommendations through natural language searches. The company plans to evolve Sparky into agentic AI that can automatically take actions, positioning Walmart in the super app conversation alongside Google and Amazon.
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Transcript
And as Beverly d' Angelo once said to Clark Griswold, hey Sparky.
Speaker A:Because Walmart has a new AI assistant and it is called exactly that.
Speaker A:Sparky2 Walmart headlines lead off today, folks.
Speaker A:According to Chainstorage, the discount giant is now offering a smiling Ask Sparky button in its mobile app, which customers can use across all product categories to find items and synthesize reviews.
Speaker A:Customers can also conduct natural language searches to determine information such as what sports teams are playing that night or the weather at the beach they're heading to and get a custom outfit recommendation.
Speaker A:Wow, I didn't know about that.
Speaker A:That's pretty cool.
Speaker A:Sparky currently uses generative AI, but soon Walmart also says that it plans to leverage agentic AI, which goes a step beyond generative AI, as I'm sure all you Omnitok fans are very familiar with at this point because it analyzes massive amounts of data in near real time and automatically takes action based on the results to provide more functionality from Sparky.
Speaker A:And are you buying or selling the hype around Sparky?
Speaker B:100% buying.
Speaker A:You're buying this too.
Speaker A:One again, hook line and sicker.
Speaker B:First, because now all Walmart products will be more easily discoverable through this app through the Ask Sparky application.
Speaker B:And it also makes Walmart products more discoverable through other large language search models because their products are set up to be discovered.
Speaker B:Second to the points that we made earlier, I think if you are going to truly compete with Amazon, you don't have to name it after a dog also, but Amazon has Rufus.
Speaker B:I think people are going to expect that Walmart, should they convert from Amazon to Walmart, that they're going to have a similar, similar service using something like Ask Sparky.
Speaker B:But lastly, the thing I think that I'm most excited about is where this can go in the future.
Speaker B:And Chris, you know that not only do I use Walmart plus for all of my grocery delivery, all of my essentials, and pretty much everything under the.
Speaker A:Sun, I think anyone still listening to this podcast knows that at this point.
Speaker B:I also have used their travel benefits significantly.
Speaker B:I booked a car in Spain last minute.
Speaker A:You booked a rental car in Spain?
Speaker B:I booked a rental car in Spain through Walmart Plus.
Speaker B:I've done this several times now.
Speaker B:But the thing that's so interesting about this is that I think once you start to get the agentic element in here, people will be coming to Ask Sparky.
Speaker B:And I hope that in the the future I'm able to go to Ask Sparky and say, hey, I'm in Barcelona.
Speaker B:I need a rental car tomorrow through the end of the weekend.
Speaker B:Can you get this done for me?
Speaker B:And that gives me a reason to go back to Walmart beyond just shopping, which I think is brilliant.
Speaker B:But are you buying?
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, I'm buying it too.
Speaker A:The one thing I take umbrage in, what you said, and it's probably the smallest port I could possibly take umbrage with, is that you said Sparky is named after a dog.
Speaker A:Because if you're from Tempe, Sparky is actually the name of the Arizona State Sun Devil mascot.
Speaker A:So shout out.
Speaker A:Yes, so shout out to my friends in Tempe back home that, like, little devil guy.
Speaker A:Yep, Sparky the Sun Devil.
Speaker B:I had no idea.
Speaker B:Yes, we had a seal named Sparky at the zoo in Minnesota.
Speaker A:Feels about right.
Speaker A:I love seals at the Minnesota zoo, but that's another topic for another day.
Speaker A:No, but I agree with you, Anne.
Speaker A:I mean, I think, I think you actually have to look at these two stories in connection with each other because if they're able to get more app downloads and get more conversions, the mobile app serves as a bedrock for them to take this in the arena of agentic AI, which is where things are going.
Speaker A:And if you step back 30,000 foot view, you have to salute Walmart for just even putting themselves in that position to be in the agentic AI conversation with Google, with Amazon, because it brings in the whole, and I hate to say it because it can be overused, but it brings Walmart squarely into the super app conversation of everything you need to do to coordinate your life.
Speaker A:Your life.
Speaker A:Talked about it getting a rental car through the app.
Speaker A:I wouldn't think to do that on Amazon, but now you're doing it on Walmart plus.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So Walmart is squarely in position to capitalize on that.
Speaker A:And again, we've talked about.
Speaker A:It's just a question of who's gonna end up being that interface, right?
Speaker A:And Walmart, I give as much chance as anybody in doing that, you know, provided they continue to show that they've got the tech chops to make it happen.
Speaker B:And they have.
Speaker B:Who knew, Chris?
Speaker B:Who knew?
Speaker A:Hey, it's working already, man.
Speaker A:It's working already.
