Walmart is training store-level employees to use AI
Forty-three years ago, Darlene Lane got her start at Walmart, working in the billing department for a regional distribution center. Now a manager of learning and development for the company, Lane was a guinea pig for how the company would train associates of all levels throughout the company on AI.
Last week, Walmart launched its certification program for associates with OpenAI after launching a similar certificate program with Google earlier this year. Lane was the first person to complete the new OpenAI certificate. She said that, since then, she has used AI as a “thought partner,” asking for ideas on activities she could include as part of a training program, for example.
“I’m probably the least technical person that you will ever meet,” Lane told reporters, as part of a presentation in Springdale, Arkansas during Walmart’s Associates Week, near its headquarters in Bentonville. “I was very hesitant at first when we got AI, because it was new technology; I was scared to use it,” Lane added. “It was easy to go through, it was easy for me to understand; and if I can get it and understand it, 99.9% of people out there can.”
Through partnerships with OpenAI and Google, Walmart executives are training associates to use AI widely throughout the organization. For example, store managers can create digital dashboards for scheduling, or merchandising associates can turn dense text into useful graphics, Daniel Danker, evp of AI acceleration, product and design for Walmart, said in a LinkedIn post. Still, the company is curtailing redundant use cases in the name of cost.
“We view [AI] as a tool that actually will remove friction and help our associates learn faster and make better decisions,” said Lorraine Stomski, chief talent officer for Walmart. “AI will help amplify the key components of our associates’ roles; it will help them actually interface with our customers and members. It will help them lift up their curiosity, their compassion and their daily thinking. So we actually view AI as a really good tool to help remove that friction.”
For example, an AI agent in the fresh departments and bakeries is being used to train employees on how to handle fresh foods or how to decorate a cake — an app that was actually designed by an associate. The app helps relay feedback on how an employee’s cake decoration looks from a photo, for example, using context directly from Walmart’s internal guidance. “It actually helps drive stronger safety and more consistent coaching, better coaching, and faster skill development at scale,” Stomski said.
AI can also help store or supply chain associates identify problems and build tools to take action, Stomski said, adding that “our associates have the best ideas.” She used the example of a logistics manager in the transportation department who completed Walmart’s Google AI certification and then created an app to help drivers identify the best available loads to get them home on time, near the end of the week.
“It reduces empty miles, it saves the company money, and it helps keep Walmart’s commitment to getting drivers home,” Stomski said. “It’s a great example of what’s possible when we give associates the tools and the confidence needed to apply bigger skills and new skills in real time.”
Josh Allen, group director of learning strategy for Walmart, said the new OpenAI certificate program is focused on AI fluency, responsible use and human judgment, but is personalized based on associates’ different job responsibilities and goals.
“For an associate who’s new to AI, that might mean building basic confidence. For a store or club leader, that might mean seeing how AI can help with coaching, communication, planning or summarizing themes,” Allen said. “For someone in operations, merchandising or support functions, it may mean learning how to analyze information, remove friction or better prepare next steps.”
In the OpenAI training program, ChatGPT asks employees about their personal goals and explains how it can help them, such as through structuring plans, creating agendas, tailoring messaging, organizing ideas and drafting communications.
Allen said not every associate is going to use AI in the same way, but every associate should have access to a common foundation of how to use AI tools effectively, how to evaluate the output the tools produce, how to understand the limitations and how to keep human judgment at the center.
“AI upskilling is not about replacing people’s judgment; it’s about helping associates build the skills and confidence to use the new tools responsibly in ways that help them perform and grow with it,” Allen said. “For Walmart, the opportunity is not just to train people on AI; it is to build a learning model that can scale across a large workforce while still feeling relevant to each individual associate.”