U.S. retail, healthcare majors harness AI innovation

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon (L) greets Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella during McMillon’s keynote address during CES 2024 at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas on January 9, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. [Photo by AFP] [Image source: Gettyimagesbank]

The integration of artificial intelligence into business operations is ushering in a wave of innovation for major U.S. retail and healthcare companies. Walmart and Elevance Health CEOs emphasized at CES 2024 in Las Vegas that AI is transforming the future of retail and healthcare.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, during his keynote speech on Tuesday, highlighted Walmart’s commitment to serving people through technology. “Walmart is building technology to serve people and will provide interconnected, customer-centric services,” he said. McMillon raised the prospect of technologies like generative AI and virtual reality taking on roles such as personal assistants. In a surprising twist during his keynote, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella made an appearance to showcase Walmart’s AI chatbot. Walmart’s AI chatbot offers the ‘In Home Replacement’ service, enabling customers to conveniently purchase the required items at the right time.

Visitors to the Walmart booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center Plaza could easily witness AI in action. The experience included making purchases via a chatbot, eliminating the need to search for individual items. By searching for specific purposes, such as ‘watching soccer matches,’ the AI chatbot presented a range of related products, including chicken, snacks, and TVs. Walmart also unveiled various services, including the VizPick service, allowing users to easily confirm the products inside boxes by scanning a QR code. The company also showcased ‘Shop with Friends,’ the beta version of its social commerce platform supporting augmented reality shopping.

For his part, Elevance Health CEO Gail Boudreaux emphasized that digital health aims to simplify healthcare services and build trust with customers. “Building AI and digital technologies into the healthcare ecosystem will enhance everyday health,” he said.

Elevance Health leverages advanced technologies such as AI, big data, cloud, and wearables to analyze customer health and offer personalized health management programs.

In his CES speech, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger predicted a future where AI PCs can handle everything without relying on the cloud, expressing Intel’s commitment to maintaining a leadership position amid fierce competition.

Intel had previously unveiled the AI PC processor ‘Core Ultra,’ equipped with a neural processing unit for independent AI operations even without network connectivity, and launched its next-generation AI semiconductor, Gaudi3.