Walmart says ‘open partnerships’ are central to its AI strategy, while Amazon goes it alone

Walmart's partnership with Google to bring its shopping experience inside Google's AI assistant, Gemini, marks a significant shift in the retailer's AI strategy, emphasizing the importance of open partnerships. This collaboration allows Walmart to expand its reach and provide a more seamless shopping experience for customers, while also leveraging Google's AI capabilities to enhance its services. For website owners, this partnership means that they should be prepared for increased AI-driven traffic and potential changes in user behavior, as more retailers integrate their services with AI assistants like Gemini. Website owners who work with Walmart or similar retailers may need to adapt their content and user experience to accommodate these new AI-driven interactions, ensuring that their sites are optimized for voice searches and other AI-powered interfaces. To stay ahead, website owners should track AI bot traffic to their sites, update their llms.txt files to reflect changes in AI-powered crawlers, and monitor user behavior to identify opportunities for optimization. By doing so, they can ensure a smooth user experience and capitalize on the growing trend of AI-driven shopping experiences.