Walmart has announced its expansion in its advertising business, as it introduced Generative AI ads into Sparky.
Sparky is Walmart’s in-app AI shopping assistant aimed to help customers search products, check availability and give recommendations. It used AI models to interact with customers in a conversational manner to make product suggestions, answer pressing questions and give recommendations based on users preferences.
Sparky functions as a closed-loop retail media environment. Advertisers can only sponsor visibility for their own Walmart-listed products, and ads are closely tied to product search.
Now, when users request recommendations, ads will appear as sponsored prompts within search results. Walmart has said that Sparky is already widely used, and positions the move as an early experiment into AI-driven commerce. The move allowed for Walmart to place itself in direct competition with Amazon’s AI shopping assistant, Rufus.
The retail giant is rolling out more generative AI tools for advertisers through its ad arm. Walmart Connect. In July they introduced Marty, an AI assistant aimed at helping brands manage and optimise sponsored search campaigns, generate performance insights and provide creative tools for ad production.
Marty also provides detailed reporting, including share-of-voice insights that show how advertisers are performing relative to their competitors. With its expansive shopper base and ever growing media network, Walmart has pitched itself as a one-stop platform for both brand advertising and performance in an increasingly AI-centred retail ecosystem.
Marty is positioned as particularly valuable for emerging advertisers, such as small and mid-sized brands, that may lack in-house expertise and are in search of more guided optimisation.
The assistant is expected to become available to all advertisers buying search ads through Walmart Connect in the first half of the year, with plans to expand its capabilities across additional ad formats.
Alongside campaign management, Walmart is investing in generative AI tools to streamline creative production. Its Automated Creative Generator allows advertisers to quickly produce assets such as product image backgrounds, significantly reducing production timelines.
