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Tiny Tabby

(49 posts)
Sat Jul 19, 2025, 07:21 PM Saturday

Pathetic attempt by Walmart to use AI at checkout

Yesterday I stopped at Walmart to buy some artichokes at the Fairlakes Fairfax store and discovered it was the first day Walmart was using AI at checkout.

Although the individual artichokes each had a tag with a bar code and item number, the scanner insisted the artichokes were broccoli. The checkout clerk tried to assist but every time he scanned the artichokes or put the item number in the register, the screen registered broccoli.

The clerk made a call to a surveillance room and spoke with a supervisor who never heard of artichokes as he did not speak English well. It was finally straightened out after about 10 minutes.

The transaction with the customer next me made me laugh at loud. The young customer would remind you of Spicolli from Fast Times and he was trying to buy a Charleston Chew candy bar. The scanner insisted it was a banana. The young man said something to the effect of "dude, this is bogus" after repeated attempts to buy the candy bar resulted in system identifying as a banana. It goes without saying the supervisor had never heard of Charleston Chew candy bars.

Every transaction was failing and customers waiting were getting frustrated.

Anybody else had this experience?







14 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Disaffected

(5,764 posts)
1. Doesn't necessarily sound like an "AI" problem.
Sat Jul 19, 2025, 07:26 PM
Saturday

Someone probably just entered the wrong codes for the goods in question.

BTW, I'd very much rather pay the price per pound for bananas than a candy bar.

Attilatheblond

(6,704 posts)
3. Yep, wrong code for the product
Sat Jul 19, 2025, 07:34 PM
Saturday

Was working at a small grocery store in a small northern town. Scanned items and got a "Check ID for Over 21" message for one item. The item was a cake mix, not beer, tobacco, or dry ice.

walkingman

(9,567 posts)
2. Haven't experience that but their new "One Pay" app is slower that using a credit card at least for me.
Sat Jul 19, 2025, 07:27 PM
Saturday

Companies seem to always change stuff once they get things working smoothly - wait until they all transition to Stablecoin which will allow then to avoid the credit card surcharge....you know it's coming.

The Madcap

(1,317 posts)
9. That is the truth.
Sat Jul 19, 2025, 08:28 PM
Saturday

Whatever happened to K.I.S.S.? Not the band, but the concept. Change for the sake of change just outruns the ability of society to keep up.

eppur_se_muova

(39,441 posts)
7. Just because it's marketed as "intelligence" doesn't mean it is. I mean, look at our POTUS.
Sat Jul 19, 2025, 08:02 PM
Saturday

Personally, I think a more honest label would be "Imitation Intelligence", or the more Trumpian "Fake Intelligence! FAAAAAKE !!"

emulatorloo

(45,998 posts)
6. Sounds like Walmart AI was trying to save you money by charging broccoli prices for artichokes.
Sat Jul 19, 2025, 07:49 PM
Saturday

As well as giving discounts on Charleston Chews.

Prairie Gates

(5,706 posts)
10. At 60-70 cents a pound for bananas, a single Charleston Chew would run you about .08 cents
Sat Jul 19, 2025, 08:36 PM
Saturday

I'd take it.

Ordinary check out tech has been reading produce bar codes for 30 years, which is also the last time anyone thought about Spicolli. I really don't understand this post, if I'm honest.

stopdiggin

(14,031 posts)
8. misidentifying product(s), and bar codes (which stores have been using for decades)
Sat Jul 19, 2025, 08:22 PM
Saturday

doesn't sound like an AI issue necessarily. Or even probably.

Ms. Toad

(37,324 posts)
11. Sounds to me like someone didn't program the item coding correctly.
Sat Jul 19, 2025, 08:39 PM
Saturday

If it has a UPC or SKU code that isn't programmed correctly, it isn't insisting an avocado is broccoli - it is just using the code to retrieve the matching item name and price. It has no idea what the item is - it just knows the number is the one tied to broccoli.

mucholderthandirt

(1,613 posts)
12. I haven't been inside a Walmart to check out in a long time (groceries online).
Sun Jul 20, 2025, 09:47 AM
14 hrs ago

My son works at one, and he hasn't said anything about changes in the self checkout. It may be rolling out a few stores at a time, though.

I keep trying to tell people that there's no such thing as "AI", and what people are calling "AI" is nothing but junk, stealing everything it knows from somewhere else. Eventually, I'll be proven right, but all I can do now is avoid it as much as possible.

uponit7771

(93,091 posts)
14. Corps are lying about AI implementations, they say it's "driven" by AI but...
Sun Jul 20, 2025, 09:57 AM
14 hrs ago

... actual AI has little or nothing to do with the processing of their data in that event or there's humans making decisions in the background.

We're not going to see real AGI for generations and predominant number of corps are not implementing AI at a worthwhile ROI now.

Even Microsoft is putting the use of its own AI in employee performance reviews cause they're not using it enough.

If AI was that useful they'd all be overusing it an incentive forced on MS employees

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