Walmart Expands AI Training to Stores, Bakery and Logistics; 84% of U.S. Frontline Staff Confident Using Digital Tools

Walmart (WMT) said AI training is raising employee confidence in new technology, citing its first company-wide survey of roughly 2.1 million global employees conducted in June. Of more than 1.7 million responses, 77% of office employees said they were confident using AI tools, while 84% of U.S. frontline workers expressed confidence with digital tools. Maren Waggoner, senior vice president of people experience and chief people officer, disclosed the results at CNBC's Workforce Executive Council summit in New York. Training runs through partnerships with OpenAI and Google, with certification courses on Walmart's internal learning platform covering interpretation of AI-generated content and tool limitations. Store staff use AI to locate inventory and translate for customers; managers build digital scheduling dashboards; fresh and bakery employees photograph finished cakes for AI feedback against internal guidelines. A transportation supervisor who completed Google's certification built an app helping truck drivers find return loads, reducing empty miles. Walmart said AI has cut handling time for some customer service cases by up to 40% and shortened apparel development cycles by as much as 18 weeks.