Bengaluru: Walmart’s artificial intelligence (AI) training programmes are helping employees become more confident about using the technology at work, offering a different perspective on concerns that AI could replace human jobs. The US retail giant says employees who completed its OpenAI training reported a 27% increase in confidence using AI, according to findings from an internal workforce survey released in October 2026.
The initiative is part of Walmart’s broader effort to equip its approximately 2.1 million associates with digital skills and AI tools. By combining training, certification and practical workplace applications, the company is attempting to make AI a tool that employees can use to improve their work rather than a technology they feel uncertain about.
However, greater confidence in using AI does not necessarily mean that employees no longer fear job losses. Walmart’s findings measure employees’ reported confidence and enthusiasm, while the long-term impact of automation on employment remains a separate question.
Walmart survey receives 1.7 million responses
Walmart surveyed its workforce about AI for the first time in June 2026. The internal survey received more than 1.7 million responses from a workforce of around 2.1 million associates, providing the company with a broad picture of employees’ attitudes towards the technology.
According to the findings shared by Walmart executives, 77% of office-based associates said they were excited about AI’s potential to improve their work. Meanwhile, 84% of US frontline associates reported confidence in using digital tools.
The figures cover different measures: the office-based result concerns excitement about AI’s potential, while the frontline result concerns confidence with digital tools more broadly. They should not be interpreted as evidence that the same proportion of employees is free from concerns about automation.
Maren Waggoner, Walmart’s chief people officer for associate experience and digital, discussed the findings at the CNBC Workforce Executive Council Summit in New York on October 27.
She attributed the positive responses in part to employees having access to training, certificates and tools they can apply in their everyday responsibilities.
OpenAI and Google training programmes
Over the 13 months preceding the October announcement, Walmart partnered with OpenAI and Google to offer associates AI learning and certification opportunities at no cost to employees. The programmes are intended to help workers understand AI tools and identify practical ways to use them in their roles.
The reported 27% increase in confidence among employees who completed OpenAI training is a central finding highlighted by the company.
Walmart’s approach recognises that employees across a large retail workforce have different responsibilities and levels of technical experience. An office-based employee may use AI to organise information or draft communications, while a store manager may use it to review reports, support planning or identify business opportunities.
Training is therefore intended to go beyond explaining what AI is. It also aims to show employees how to apply the technology to real tasks, evaluate its output and recognise its limitations.
The confidence result is based on employees’ reported experiences. It does not, by itself, establish that training caused the entire increase or that employees became more productive by the same percentage.
Employees are finding practical uses for AI
Walmart has highlighted examples of associates developing or using AI-based tools to solve operational problems.
A transportation associate in Canada built an AI agent to help teams identify possible supply-chain disruptions. In another example, a store leader in Idaho developed an application that converts handwritten notes into organised summaries and action items.
These examples illustrate how AI applications can be developed around specific workplace needs rather than introduced simply to automate entire roles.
For employees, such applications can help organise information, reduce repetitive administrative work and support decision-making. The extent of the benefit depends on the accuracy of the tools, how well they fit existing workflows and whether workers can verify their outputs.
Walmart’s training strategy is intended to help associates identify such opportunities themselves, instead of leaving AI development and adoption entirely to specialist technology teams.
Can AI training ease fears of job losses?
Concerns about AI replacing jobs remain widespread. An August 2026 Pew Research Center poll cited in coverage of Walmart’s survey found that 52% of US adults were more worried than enthusiastic about AI, while 9% leaned more towards excitement than worry.
Walmart’s survey suggests that its employees report considerable enthusiasm and confidence in some areas of AI use. But the results should not be treated as proof that training eliminates job insecurity or guarantees employment.
The company is also exploring automation in fulfilment centres to reduce friction and some physical tasks. Walmart executives have described an approach that seeks to retain human judgement while using technology to assist workers.
At the company’s innovation lab in Dallas, automation initiatives have reportedly created more quality-assurance-type responsibilities, according to an executive speaking about the retailer’s experience. This is an example of how job responsibilities can change as technology is introduced, but it does not establish the overall effect on employment across Walmart.
AI can change the tasks employees perform, create demand for new skills and reduce the need for certain activities. Whether those changes result in job creation, job losses or a combination of both depends on how companies implement the technology and reorganise their operations.
Human judgement remains part of Walmart’s approach
Walmart has presented itself as a people-led, technology-powered retailer, with AI intended to support employees in serving customers and running operations.
The company’s examples suggest that it wants associates to learn how to use AI to solve problems while continuing to apply their knowledge of customers, products and day-to-day business operations.
For instance, a store manager may use an AI tool to analyse sales information, but still needs to make decisions about staffing, stock, customer service and store performance. Similarly, employees using AI-generated summaries must check that the information is accurate before acting on it.
This approach places responsibility on employers to provide useful training and on employees to develop the skills needed to work with emerging technology.
AI skills could become increasingly important
Walmart’s initiative highlights a broader workplace trend: AI adoption is increasingly being accompanied by employee training and efforts to make new tools accessible to workers in different roles.
The company’s internal survey provides evidence that many associates are enthusiastic about AI and that those completing OpenAI training reported higher confidence. It does not settle the wider debate over the technology’s long-term effect on employment.
For workers, the practical lesson is that learning how to use AI, assess its output and apply it to everyday problems may help them adapt as job responsibilities change. For employers, the challenge is to ensure that training translates into meaningful workplace improvements while addressing employees’ concerns about how automation could affect their roles.
Walmart’s experience indicates that access to tools and structured learning can be an important part of workplace AI adoption. Whether those efforts also protect jobs or produce lasting productivity gains will require further evidence as the technology becomes more deeply integrated into retail operations.