Walmart Added AI to Their Shopping App – Orders Got 35% Bigger
Walmart added a generative AI assistant to their shopping app. The customers who use it spend 35% more per order on average. About half of all Walmart app users have tried it.
That’s one of the clearest demonstrations of AI-driven revenue lift I’ve seen in retail – and it has a direct parallel for any business that sells anything online or in person.
Here’s the full story.
What Walmart Actually Did
In June 2025, Walmart launched Sparky – a generative AI shopping assistant built directly into the Walmart app. It’s not a search bar with a chatbot wrapper. It’s a conversational assistant that asks what you’re looking for, understands context (occasion, budget, preferences), surfaces relevant products, suggests complementary items, and removes the decision friction that causes cart abandonment.
You type ‘I need everything for a backyard birthday party for 15 kids.’ Sparky builds your cart.
By Q4 FY2026 earnings, CFO John David Rainey reported: – Approximately 50% of all Walmart app users have tried Sparky – Sparky users spend 35% more per order on average – Sparky is now integrated inside ChatGPT and Google Gemini
The 35% number is the one that matters most. It’s not engagement. It’s not satisfaction. It’s basket size – the metric that flows directly to revenue.
Why This Actually Worked
First, AI personalization reduces purchase uncertainty. When a customer isn’t sure what to buy, they buy less or abandon the session. Sparky replaces uncertainty with confident recommendations, and confident customers complete bigger purchases.
Second, the conversational interface surfaces products customers didn’t know they needed. Traditional search requires you to know what you’re looking for. A conversational AI discovers needs you haven’t articulated yet – and fills them.
Third, Walmart embedded Sparky in ChatGPT and Gemini – going where customers already are rather than forcing them to come to Walmart.com. Meeting customers in their AI tools is the retail distribution strategy of 2026.
I’m Mike Partners. I founded AiExpert.org because I believe the strategies behind billion-dollar AI deployments should be accessible to every business owner. Here’s how to put this one into practice.
How to Apply This to Your Business
Add an AI chat assistant to your product pages or booking flow. Even a simple implementation (Tidio AI, Intercom Fin, a custom GPT widget) that asks ‘what are you looking for?’ can surface relevant products customers wouldn’t have found on their own. Run a 30-day A/B test. From there, train it to recommend bundles and complements. The 35% basket lift comes from complementary recommendations. Your AI assistant should know that someone buying X usually also needs Y. Feed it your catalog logic. Finally, distribute through AI where your customers already are. If your customers use ChatGPT or other AI tools daily, consider building a simple GPT or Action that lets them discover and purchase from you through those interfaces.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Walmart use AI in its shopping app?
Walmart built Sparky, a generative AI shopping assistant that understands context like occasion, budget, and preferences, then builds personalized shopping carts. The result is 35% larger orders on average from users who engage with it.
What is Walmart’s Sparky AI assistant?
Sparky is Walmart’s conversational AI shopping assistant launched in June 2025. About 50% of all Walmart app users have tried it. It surfaces relevant products and complementary items based on natural language requests.
Can small businesses add AI shopping assistants?
Yes. Mike Partners recommends tools like Tidio AI, Intercom Fin, or custom GPT widgets that ask customers what they need and surface relevant products. Even a simple implementation can increase basket size.
How does AI increase average order value?
AI increases order value by reducing purchase uncertainty and surfacing products customers did not know they needed. Conversational AI discovers needs customers have not articulated and fills them with relevant recommendations.
What is the ROI of adding AI to e-commerce?
Walmart reports a 35% increase in basket size from AI-assisted shopping. For small businesses, the team at Mike Partners helps measure and optimize this kind of AI-driven revenue improvement through AiExpert.org.
