Walmart CEO John Furner said customers using the retailer’s Sparky AI shopping assistant increased 70% from a year earlier and spent 40% more per order than nonusers. Sparky can create healthy, high-protein meal plans, provide recipes and meal kits, add products to a cart with one click and identify ingredients already purchased to avoid duplicates. Launched in June 2025, the assistant is part of Walmart’s broader effort to use AI to improve shopping and make associates’ work easier. Walmart has also tested Sponsored Prompt ads in Sparky and partnered with OpenAI to enable ChatGPT users to buy Walmart products directly. The company reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of 81 cents per share and sales of $187.9 billion, beating estimates of 74 cents and $186.8 billion, respectively. Its third-quarter earnings outlook of 62 cents to 64 cents per share and sales forecast of $183.134 billion to $184.468 billion were below analyst estimates. Walmart shares fell 9.15% to close at $103.59 on Thursday before rising 0.35% in premarket trading Friday.