Walmart has introduced Sparky, a smiley-faced generative AI-powered assistant capable of synthesizing reviews and offering mobile app users occasion-based recommendations. The retailer promises that it will soon enhance Sparky’s capabilities to include reordering, service bookings and the ability to understand text, image, audio and video inputs.
The “Ask Sparky” button in the Walmart app can offer insights to prepare for virtually any occasion. For example, customers can ask what sports teams are playing in their area that night or check the weather at the beach they’re headed to, and get optimal outfit and product recommendations for each destination.
Sparky joins Walmart’s growing catalog of AI-powered shopping capabilities, including search within the navigation bar and summaries of product reviews, descriptions and comparisons.
Customization and Personalization Features on the Roadmap
Walmart also plans to give customers the ability to customize their experiences with Sparky, from automatically reordering household essentials to booking services that simplify shopping tasks. Queries such as “How do I fix this leaky faucet?” will turn into step-by-step guidance, with the right tools ordered for same-day delivery.
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For the past few years, many tech-forward retailers have been testing and adopting this type of agentic AI, which can complete multi-step tasks rather than just respond to prompts, including:
- In February 2024 Ikea launched a generative AI-powered design and shopping tool;
- Amazon made its Rufus AI assistant available to all U.S. shoppers in July 2024;
- In March 2025 Lowe’s introduced its Mylowe conversational AI agent; and
- Payment platforms Visa, Mastercard and PayPal introduced agentic AI functionalities in May 2025.
