On Wednesday, July 23, Instacart’s Chief Product Officer, Daniel Danker, shared on LinkedIn that he is leaving the grocery platform is to lead Walmart’s AI initiatives. Then on Thursday, Walmart unveiled details of those initiatives, which include plans for a suite of AI-powered “super agents” designed to improve both its operations and the customer experience.
Danker to Help ‘Unlock the Next Chapter’ of AI at Walmart
Danker is expected to start in his new role around Aug. 18. His appointment was announced to Walmart employees in a memo from CEO Doug McMillon, viewed by The Information, in which McMillon shared that Danker will report directly to him in the role of EVP of AI Acceleration, Product and Design.
“We’re on the eve of another transformation as AI enables us to reinvent commerce and serve customers and communities in entirely new ways,” said Danker on LinkedIn. “I’m excited and honored to help unlock this next chapter with Doug McMillon and the team,” adding that leaving Instacart after 4-and-a-half years is “bittersweet.”
This the second major exec that Instacart has lost in recent months as the AI talent race begins to heat up. In May, Instacart CEO Fidji Simo announced that she was leaving the company for OpenAI.
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A Walmart ‘Super Agent’ for Everyone
Danker will have his work cut out for him, with Hari Vasudev, Walmart U.S.’s Chief Technology Officer, sharing details of the company’s plans for a suite of AI agents while speaking at an event in New York Thursday. Four “super agents” are planned — one each for shoppers, employees, suppliers and sellers, and software developers — and will eventually (if all goes according to plan) be the primary way that everyone engages with Walmart. Some of these new, more powerful agents will replace existing AI systems, but one is already available — Sparky, which debuted last month in the Walmart app.
At the moment Sparky acts as a shopping assistant, offering product recommendations and summarizing reviews, but eventually Sparky will take on a more agentic role, with the ability to reorder items and even plan shopping for specific events or occasions, according to Reuters.
Walmart’s super agent for associates will be rolling out in the coming months. And the agent for sellers, suppliers and advertisers is still in development, but it already has a name: Marty. Marty will help to streamline tasks like supplier onboarding, order management and ad campaign creation.
