Walmart Inc.’s use of artificial intelligence has helped its personal shoppers make better choices when substituting items in online orders, the company said Thursday.

Since the Bentonvillebased retailer began using this technology, customer acceptance of substitutions has grown to more than 95%, said Srini Venkatesan, executive vice president of Walmart Global Tech.

Walmart began working on this technology last year as the pandemic caused a surge in online grocery orders, Venkatesan said in a corporate blog post. But out-of-stock items called for substitutions.

“If the wrong choice is made, it can negatively impact customer satisfaction and increase costs,” Venkatesan said.