BENTONVILLE, Arkansas: Walmart said it is partnering with OpenAI to let customers and Sam's Club members shop directly within ChatGPT, marking the retail giant's most significant push yet into artificial intelligence-powered shopping.

The new feature integrates Walmart's Instant Checkout system into ChatGPT, allowing users to search for and buy products through the chatbot without leaving the app. Walmart's shares rose five percent to US$107.21 after the announcement.

The world's largest retailer has been steadily weaving AI into its operations to streamline customer service and improve online shopping, a move analysts say is aimed at narrowing the technology gap with Amazon.

Walmart's app already features "Sparky," a generative AI-powered assistant that helps customers with product recommendations, price comparisons, and review summaries. The new ChatGPT partnership expands that ecosystem beyond Walmart's own platforms, giving it access to OpenAI's vast user base.

"This is another step toward making shopping simpler and more intuitive for our customers," Walmart said in a statement.

The collaboration also puts Walmart in direct competition with Amazon's Rufus, the GenAI shopping chatbot launched earlier this year to answer detailed product queries and make recommendations.

Walmart's tie-up with OpenAI follows similar partnerships announced last month between the ChatGPT maker and e-commerce platforms Etsy and Shopify. OpenAI looks to position ChatGPT as a digital storefront for global retailers.

According to analytics firm SimilarWeb, 15 percent of Walmart's referral traffic in September came from ChatGPT, up from 9.5 percent in August. However, the firm noted that referrals from ChatGPT still make up less than one percent of Walmart's total web traffic.