OpenAI is launching a new certification program, and Walmart wants it to be a part of the retailer’s training resources for employees.
Walmart detailed these plans in a Sept. 4 email to team members, explaining how the artificial intelligence (AI) training will be integrated with its Walmart Academy program. The announcement comes as part of Walmart’s plans to invest $1 billion in skills training through 2026.
Walmart is No. 2 in the Top 2000. The database is Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of North America’s online retailers by their annual ecommerce sales. In the database, Walmart appears in the Mass Merchant category.
Walmart is also No. 8 in the Global Online Marketplaces. That database ranks the top such marketplaces by third-party gross merchandise value (GMV).
How Walmart will use OpenAI’s program to train employees
“Beginning next year, U.S. frontline and office-based associates will have access to cutting-edge AI training through a new collaboration with OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT,” wrote Donna Morris, the chief people officer at Walmart, in her email. “They’re launching a new OpenAI Certifications program, and we’re working with them to create a customized experience for you.”
Morris described the training experience that Walmart employees will receive as “tailored,” saying it will arrive sometime in 2026.
“Through Walmart Academy, the largest private training program in the world with over 3.5 million participants, associates will have free access to a tailored version of this certification,” Morris explained. “This training is designed to help you at work and in your personal life in an increasingly digital world.”
In addition to the upcoming OpenAI certification, Walmart currently provides AI training through its skills-focused Live Better U platform. It also offers documentation for AI use on the job at its ai.walmart.com portal.
Adding OpenAI certification to Walmart’s AI plans
“By bringing AI training directly to our associates, we’ll enable our people to maximize the benefit of AI-powered technology — giving them the skills they need to rewrite the playbook and shape the future of retail,” wrote John Furner, the president and CEO at Walmart U.S., in a LinkedIn post.
Furner used language that Walmart often incorporates into its vision statements.
“Being people-led, tech-powered means we lead with humanity, but support our associates with powerful technology that helps them and our customers,” he stated.
Those sentiments echoed words used earlier in 2025 to announce Walmart’s brand refresh, as well as Walmart’s AI “super agents.”
In July, Walmart named Daniel Danker, the former chief product officer and head of online grocery at Instacart, as the retailer’s new executive vice president, AI acceleration, product and design.
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