Walmart said Tuesday it has partnered with OpenAI to let customers shop through ChatGPT, signaling a shift from typing product queries to having conversational, end-to-end shopping help.
The retailer did not disclose terms or a launch date, saying only that the capability is coming “soon.”
Early descriptions point to chat-based recommendations and Instant Checkout inside ChatGPT, so a user can plan a meal, add ingredients to a cart, and pay without leaving the conversation.
How shopping in ChatGPT is expected to work
Walmart described a scenario where ChatGPT helps with tasks like restocking household basics, building a shopping list, or comparing options across price and features, then completing a purchase in one flow.
The retailer calls this an “AI-first” experience that reduces the back-and-forth of traditional search pages.
A corporate release said Instant Checkout will support direct purchases through the chatbot and will expand as capabilities mature.
The announcement framed the feature as an on-ramp to “agentic commerce,” a model where the assistant takes action for the user once permissions are granted.
OpenAI has been piloting commerce features in ChatGPT this fall, including an Instant Checkout flow that lets U.S. users buy from participating merchants. The Wall Street Journal reported in late September that ChatGPT could complete purchases from Etsy and Shopify sellers inside the app, a step that laid the groundwork for larger retail partners to plug in (WSJ).
Where this fits in Walmart’s AI strategy
The ChatGPT integration follows Walmart’s rollout of Sparky, a generative AI assistant inside the Walmart app. Sparky launched in June 2025 to summarize reviews, surface recommendations, and help plan purchases across categories.
The company has also been deploying AI tools for store employees and says it is collaborating with OpenAI on training programs for U.S. associates, part of a broader internal skilling effort that Walmart discussed in late September.
For OpenAI, Walmart adds one of the largest consumer platforms to its commerce experiments.
The competitive landscape
Walmart is not the first major retailer to lean on a shopping chatbot. Amazon unveiled Rufus in February 2024, describing it as an AI assistant that understands Amazon’s catalog and can answer product questions in natural language.
The rollout and early testing were documented by Amazon and by Reuters, which covered both the launch and subsequent AI features in Amazon’s shopping app.
Walmart’s Sparky arrived in June 2025, which placed the company on a faster track to embed AI across its mobile experience before reaching into off-platform environments like ChatGPT.
The stakes are significant. Retailers see conversational shopping as a way to boost conversion and basket size by reducing friction. Analysts say the move from static results to guided, multi-step chats could change how ads, recommendations, and subscriptions are presented, although those details were not part of Walmart’s announcement.
