Maren Waggoner, Walmart senior vice president and chief people officer for associate experience and digital, speaks with CNBC's Leslie Picker at the 2026 CNBC Workforce Executive Council Summit in New York City on October 27. 2026.

CNBC

As enterprise AI investment continues to grow, companies of all sizes are trying to figure out how employees feel about the technology in the workplace.

Walmart , the biggest private employer in the world, asked its 2.1 million associates in June that exact question for the first time, trying to get a sense of how one of the most diverse workforces is experiencing AI.

What it found, based on more than 1.7 million survey responses, is that while workers have different levels of familiarity and comfort with AI, training and experience with the technology matters.

Seventy-seven percent of Walmart's office-based associates said are excited about AI's potential to improve their work, Walmart Chief People Officer for Associate Experience and Digital Maren Waggoner told CNBC's…