The news: Generative AI is reshaping Walmart’s ad business.

• The retailer is introducing an advertising assistant through its Marty super agent that can help brands build, optimize, and manage sponsored search campaigns. The assistant will be available to all brands buying search ads in the first half of 2026, the company told Adweek.
• Walmart is also officially running ads in Sparky, its in-app shopping assistant, after a brief pilot period.

Why it matters: Walmart Connect’s genAI initiatives position the retailer to scoop up spending from newcomers to retail media and more experienced brands who want to boost campaign efficiency.

• Walmart’s advertising assistant provides clear, actionable answers and recommendations on topics like keywords and bidding in a conversational interface, making it especially useful for smaller brands with limited online advertising experience.
• It can also generate four types of research reports, including share-of-voice analyses, to help advertisers measure performance.
• Nearly all—97%—of user queries thus far have been unique, Walmart said, suggesting that advertisers are using the assistant to gain tailored guidance.

While it’s still “early days” for AI shopping assistants, Walmart wants to be prepared should adoption grow, Khurrum Malik, Walmart Connect’s VP of business and product marketing, told Adweek. This move also comes as Amazon, Perplexity, and Google are all moving to monetize AI search and chatbots, and brands seek ways to stay discoverable in a rapidly shifting landscape.

Our take: Walmart’s latest genAI initiatives support the continuation of the chain’s stellar ad growth.

• By making it easier for brands to create, manage, and optimize their campaigns, Walmart is lowering the barriers for small brands and marketplace sellers to advertise.
• At the same time, the ability to experiment with newer formats like sponsored AI prompts could attract advertisers preparing for a future in which more product discovery shifts to AI platforms.