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A new Walmart in-store AI is giving employees advice on how to sell products before it's too late

Walmart store employees are starting to get advice from an AI on when produce is about to go bad and when certain clothing items may need to be put on sale.

Giving AI to associates will help them make data-driven proactive decisions that lead to reduced waste in stores, said Swati Kirti, senior director of data science at Walmart International Tech. The AI may advise the employee to do a price change, or send the product back to a vendor if that's part of the policy for that particular item, or recommend donating it as the best outcome from the analysis. Homer Swei, senior vice president for healthy living science at nonprofit EWG, said moves like Walmart's are also tied to the fact that consumers now expect more from companies when it comes to their ecological footprints, production and packaging, ingredients/materials, and waste and disposal practices.

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