Walmart gives GenAI power to all store associates
Produce employees at one of the biggest mass retailers will now be able to use generative artificial intelligence technology during their shifts.
Walmart launched a GenAI-powered feature called My Assistant to all store associates in the U.S., in a user-friendly desktop and mobile app experience, according to a Walmart newsletter authored by Donna Morris, Walmart’s executive vice president and chief people officer, and Cheryl Ainoa, Walmart’s executive vice president of new businesses and emerging technologies.
That’s tens of thousands of associates.
Ideally, this technology will free them from monotonous, repetitive tasks, allowing more time and focus for improving the customer/member experience, according to the newsletter.
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Given the quick emergence of generative AI, people are suspicious about AI and automation — especially its impact on the future of work.
“Here’s our belief: It will take both people and technology to deliver on our purpose to help people save money and live better. GenAI can help us work faster and more efficiently, but it also has limitations: it lacks judgment, has a limited understanding of context and is only as good as the data it’s trained on,” Morris and Ainoa wrote. “For out-of-the-box, truly brand-new thinking — that’s what humans are good at. Our humanity is what sets us apart and always will be.”
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While this tech is new to many people, Walmart has been working with AI and precursors to the underlying GenAI tech for years, developing guidelines to help associates use this tech responsibly, they wrote.
The tool is housed under Walmart's new Me@Campus super app: It’s a one-stop shop to navigate all aspects of working at Walmart. Associates can manage their careers, financial well-being, required learnings and teams in one platform.
The company is also is working toward using this tool for new associate orientation and to help associates better understand and choose their benefits during annual enrollment. Associates can even order a coffee in the app while they also book a conference room for their next meeting — before using the integrated campus navigation to find their way, Ainoa and Morris wrote in the newsletter.
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