If there was ever a time for Walmart to throw in the towel on the AI experiment, it would have been on the heels of the colossal failure that was Instant Checkout. “You win some, you lose some,” they could have said.

Instead, they doubled down. They sent in reinforcements. They sent in Sparky.

Walmart’s very own AI bot can now be integrated with ChatGPT. To try this out for yourself, head to the “Apps” page on ChatGPT and search for “Walmart”. Then all you have to do is click the “Connect” button and sign in to your Walmart account; and Sparky will make itself at home.

What does this mean for sellers? Quite a bit!

In pre-AI times (don’t those feel so long ago, now?), we could focus the majority of our product listing optimization efforts on Search Engine Optimization. You know the drill there– strategically placed keywords, accurate categories, in-depth product details and attributes. SEO staples designed to help our products climb to the top of Walmart Marketplace and Google search result pages.

And make no mistake about it, the tried and true SEO methods from the good ol’ days are still important for driving sales. But there are a couple more EO’s that we need to be focusing on now too: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO).

GEO is all about making sure your product listings will be easy for AI bots like Sparky to find during conversational searches. In other words, if a user is brainstorming a project, you’ll want Sparky to suggest your product as a solution.

• Consider Long-Tail Keywords – Someone using ChatGPT won’t simply search XL dog leash; they’ll be asking conversational questions like “What is the most comfortable type of leash for my Berniedoodle?” Suddenly, listings mentioning comfort or this specific breed will stand out more. Obviously, you can’t include keywords for EVERY potential search that will come up, but you can give some thought to potentially popular ones.
• Think About User Intent – What solution is your customer searching for when they seek out your product? What makes yours the best option for them? Read your product listing through the lens of a customer asking these questions and make sure that the answers are clear. This will help both page viewers AND AI bots like Sparky!
• Use Clear and Comprehensive Attributes – Fortunately, there is plenty of overlap across these different forms of optimization. You’ve probably already fine-tuned your product attributes across the board for the sake of SEO. But if you haven’t, here’s ANOTHER reason to– customers are going to ask a lot of questions about specific product details, and your listing attributes will play a big role in how accurate Sparky can be.

AEO is very similar to GEO, only it refers specifically to question-based AI searches instead of conversational ones. The same rules above apply here, and here’s one AEO-specific one:

• Don’t Forget Words Like “For” – When using a search engine, someone looking to buy their nephew a sweater might search “kids blue sweatshirt”. Someone chatting with ChatGPT on the other hand, will often ask this more conversationally, like “What would be a good blue sweatshirt for a boy?” The addition of phrasing like “sweatshirt for boy” in this product page’s description could help it show up more often in AI searches.

As strange as this new world is, the important thing to remember is that no matter what engine you are optimizing for, the goal is always the same: being as clear, helpful, and detailed as you can be. We just want to make it as easy as possible for whoever (or in Sparky’s case, whatever) is searching for something to find us!

New WFS Estimated Item Revenue Calculator Launched!

Long-time readers of Walmart Insiders know that one of the biggest reasons I get so excited about the future of Walmart Marketplace is how frequently Walmart releases tools and programs designed to make the lives of its sellers easier. And this month, we have yet another example with the powerful new Estimated Item Revenue Calculator.

To access the calculator, visit the “Inventory” page on your Seller Center and click the calculator icon under Manage Item at the end of the item row. To calculate estimated revenue, you will be prompted to do the following:

• Enter the current price of your item.
• Check any value-added services you’re using for this item.
• Enter the unit sales you want factored into the estimated revenue.
• Enter the total quantity of your other costs.
• Select Estimate.
  

Want to make a price adjustment based on your calculations? That’s my favorite thing about this new tool– you can update your live listing price right from the calculator!

Which item in your store are you going to try this out on first?

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