What: Walmart unveils Wallaby, a retail-specific AI model suite, as part of its "Adaptive Retail" strategy to revolutionise personalised shopping and customer service.

Why it is important: The introduction of Wallaby highlights the retail industry's move towards more sophisticated, brand-specific AI solutions, which could reshape customer interactions and internal operations across the sector.

Walmart has debuted Wallaby, a set of retail-specific AI models designed to power the company's "Adaptive Retail" era. These large language models (LLMs) have been trained on decades of Walmart data, incorporating company-specific knowledge about customers, employees, terminology, corporate values, and brand-specific information. Walmart plans to integrate Wallaby with other AI models based on specific application goals. In addition to Wallaby, Walmart is developing a "content decision platform" that uses AI to understand customers and a generative AI-powered tool to predict content for each shopper on Walmart's website. The company has also created an AR platform called Retina for engaging customers in virtual spaces. Walmart aims to release new Wallaby-enabled customer experiences in the U.S. by the end of 2025, with plans to use the platform for personalised product recommendations in Canada and Mexico. Wallaby builds upon Walmart's existing foundation of multiple LLMs designed to assist employees and shoppers. The company is currently testing the system internally, with a focus on understanding Walmart's products and brands to ensure accurate communication with customers.

IADS Notes: Walmart's introduction of Wallaby and related AI initiatives aligns with its ongoing strategy to leverage artificial intelligence across its retail operations. The company has been progressively integrating AI into various aspects of its business, from improving product catalog data quality to enhancing search functionalities and empowering frontline employees . Walmart's AI-powered personalised homepages, set to launch by the end of 2025, demonstrate the company's commitment to creating tailored shopping experiences . These developments reflect Walmart's position at the forefront of retail technology, setting new standards for the industry in personalised shopping experiences and data-driven decision-making.

Walmart unveils Wallaby AI for personalised shopping