Walmart shifts strategy: Sparky replaces OpenAI auto-checkout

Walmart has changed its approach to agentic shopping: instead of allowing OpenAI to autonomously process orders on behalf of users, the retailer will embed its own AI assistant Sparky directly into ChatGPT and Google Gemini. In 2024, Walmart and OpenAI agreed on the Instant Checkout feature — the agent was supposed to independently add items to the cart and complete the purchase without human involvement. The idea seemed like a logical step toward "agentic shopping," where AI handles the routine.

However, in practice, the feature failed to meet expectations: conversion rates were lower than predicted, and users were reluctant to grant the neural network access to their payment data. Rather than refining the failed mechanics, Walmart bet on a different model. Sparky — the retail chain's corporate AI assistant, launched in early 2024 — will be integrated directly into ChatGPT and Gemini.

This means: a user asks ChatGPT "what to gift for a birthday under 3000 rubles," Sparky displays products from walmart.com within the same dialogue, and the person clicks "buy" themselves — consciously, not unknowingly. This approach is fundamentally different from agentic auto-ordering.

Walmart retains full control over the shopping experience — brand, product selection, prices — but places the entry point where the user already is. This is more advantageous than pulling the customer to a separate website or app. For OpenAI and Google, it's also a win: the more utility tasks are solved directly in the chatbot, the higher the user retention on the platform.

However, the Instant Checkout story raises an uncomfortable question: how ready are users for agentic shopping right now? Giving AI the right to spend money is a different level of trust than asking it to write a letter. Walmart has effectively taken a step back: from an autonomous agent to an assistant that merely recommends.

This is more honest from a UX perspective, but it means that "true" agentic shopping — where the neural network itself puts items in the cart and pays — remains a matter of the future. Restaurant chains, pharmacies, and other retailers are watching the experiment closely. If Sparky shows significant conversion from ChatGPT to sales, it could set a new standard: not an independent app, but a presence within someone else's chatbot as the primary sales channel.