Walmart Eyes Furner as Successor

Walmart is putting artificial intelligence at the heart of how shoppers discover, pay for, and receive their orders—betting big that tech can give it an edge over Amazon and Google. With Doug McMillon lining up John Furner as his successor and Daniel Danker driving AI acceleration, Walmart is rolling out digital shelf labels, AI-powered demand prediction, and a commerce agent called Sparky for ChatGPT and Gemini. The goal: keep checkout, loyalty, and customer data inside Walmart’s ecosystem even as shopping starts everywhere.

But here’s the catch: OpenAI scrapped its Instant Checkout feature for being too rigid, instead letting merchants like Walmart keep control over crucial payments. Walmart’s commerce agent Sparky lets shoppers browse inside ChatGPT but funnels transactions right back to Walmart, guarding its data and profits. Still, competitors like Gap are testing direct in-chat checkout, and as OpenAI’s improved Agentic Commerce Protocol rolls out, the conversion race is on. If Walmart’s AI investments don’t pay off, it risks ceding ground to tech giants with slicker, stickier customer experiences.

Based on reporting from Fortune, Retail Dive, Axios, Marketing Dive, 9to5Google, Facilities Dive, and WCPO, with direct insights from Daniel Danker and Fortune’s latest leadership scoop.

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