Walmart wants its artificial intelligence shopping agent, Sparky, to turn a handwritten holiday list into a shopping cart. Amazon wants businesses to put agents to work buying supplies and managing purchases within company spending rules.

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The moves highlight two fronts in the companies’ competition to influence how customers buy. Walmart is making Sparky more useful for everyday shopping, while Amazon is making the case for businesses to give AI greater responsibility for purchasing. Both approaches bring agents closer to the decisions that generate transactions.

Walmart outlined new Sparky features designed to handle holiday tasks that require more than a product search, according to an Oct. 30 company announcement. Shoppers can upload a photograph of a handwritten list or export a digital list to build a cart. They can also share an image of a problem, such as a stained tablecloth, and receive product recommendations. For hosts planning meals, Sparky can generate recipes around budgets and dietary needs, then add ingredients to a cart when the shopper is ready.

The features also connect digital assistance to Walmart’s physical stores. Its Shop to Light capability lets shoppers locate an item on a store map and activate a flashing shelf label to find it, per the announcement. That gives Walmart a practical way to make its store network part of the AI shopping experience. An agent can help customers decide what they need, build a basket and find products in the aisle.

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