Walmart is expanding its employee-only voice assistant technology to associates at more than 5,000 big-box stores nationwide, TechCrunch reported. App “Ask Sam,” originally developed for subsidiary Sam’s Club, now offers digital guidance to Walmart workers looking for store maps, price checks, product locations, sales information, and more.
Introduced last year, the app was designed “as an additional way to help associates find the answers they need to do their jobs more effectively and better serve customers,” Walmart’s Chief Product Officer Meng Chee wrote in a blog announcement. “Our goal as a product organization is to create products, services, and platform capabilities that make our associates’ and customers’ lives easier.”
Ask Sam has proven helpful during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the latest guidelines and dropping knowledge directly to users’ fingertips—no typing required. And it will only become more sophisticated over time, leaning on its machine learning tech and a team of human engineers to improve accuracy.
For an added layer of security, Ask Sam features an Emergency Alert Button—”empowering managers to make quick decisions during high-stress situations,” Chee said. “With the push of a button, clear and instructive emergency notifications are sent to all associates on and off the clock.” That could mean the start of local lockdown procedures, moving employees and customers to a secure area inside the store; instructions to evacuate the facility; or a simple “all clear” to resume activities and report to shifts as normal.
“The safety and well-being of our associates and customers is our No. 1 priority,” according to Chee, who touted the Emergency Alert Button as “one of the many steps we’ve taken to enhance our safety measures.” “Maintaining a customer-centric mindset and willingness to experiment will allow us to continuously improve and innovate,” he added.
It’s unclear whether a version of Ask Sam will ever roll out to customers. Walmart last year partnered with Google to launch Voice Order—its answer to Amazon’s Alexa grocery shopping. Using any Assistant-powered device, simply say, “OK Google, talk to Walmart” to start adding products to your digital cart.
