AI in Marketing: Insights from Walmart’s Ex-Senior Director of Product Management

Episode #25 of the Mass Appeal Podcast

AI is everywhere these days – but what does it really mean? In this episode, Tommy sits down with Bani Malhotra, former Senior Director of Product Management for Site Experiences and Omnichannel Personalization at Walmart U.S. eCommerce, to break it all down. With a background across finance, strategy, and product leadership, Bani has a unique perspective on AI’s role in modern business.

Beyond the practical applications, Bani also dives into AI’s potential risks, including the challenges of bias, data accuracy, and ethical considerations. No matter if you’re just getting acquainted with AI or looking to deepen your understanding, this conversation will give you food for thought around the real-world impact of artificial intelligence.

What’s the Topic?

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How Walmart uses AI to improve customer experience.
• The difference between heuristics, machine learning, and deep learning.
• The comparison between SLMs and LLMs.
• How AI determines consumer behavior and predicts preferences.
• Where marketers can leverage AI the most.
• What the biggest concerns about AI’s future are.

What to Listen Out for

Here are some key moments from the episode you won’t want to miss:

• 2:38 – Bani’s career journey: From finance and strategy to product management
• 9:58 – Breaking down her role at Walmart in personalization and site experiences
• 17:42 – AI’s impact on eCommerce user experience and decision-making
• 21:10 – The difference between heuristics (rules-based decisions) and AI
• 23:52 – The spectrum of machine learning: How models evolve and adapt
• 28:20 – How AI models determine confidence scores for predictions
• 31:10 – Defining AI-related terms (LLMs, SLMs, deep learning, and more)
• 41:00 – The biggest AI opportunities for marketers today
• 54:45 – AI concerns: Ethics, misinformation, and future challenges