Walmart Debuts Sparky AI Assistant

 

June 27, 2025

BENTONVILLE, AR – Walmart introduced a GenAI-powered shopping assistant called Sparky earlier this month. All shopping categories now feature a smiling “Ask Sparky” button in the Walmart app. Sparky helps customers search to find items and synthesize reviews—in addition to offering insights to prepare for occasions such as current sporting events and finding the right jersey.

“A customer can ask what sports teams are playing that night or check the weather at the beach they’re heading to,” writes Desiree Gosby, senior vice president at Walmart via press release, “and get the perfect outfit recommended. From answering product questions to comparing options, Sparky takes the guesswork out of shopping, making recommendations so customers can add to cart with confidence.”

Beyond answering questions, the GenAI assistant can automatically reorder household essentials or book services that simplify shopping tasks. “It will be multi-modal,” Gosby adds, “able to understand text, images, audio and video — seamlessly weaving into customers’ lives to unlock instant access to the products and services they need, whenever and however they shop.”

Sparky joins Walmart’s suite of AI-powered shopping capabilities, which currently includes search within the navigation bar, summaries of product reviews, product descriptions, and product comparisons.