Walmart To Let AI Agents Shop Under Customer-set Limits
Walmart plans to let approved AI agents shop on its site, with purchase approvals, spending limits and separate records of agent transactions.
Walmart plans to let customers use AI agents to shop on its website, with controls over what those agents can buy and how purchases are approved. Agent Profiles, which will let shoppers manage individual agents, are due to roll out next month, according to TechCrunch. The company also plans to support agent shopping at Sam’s Club.
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How agent shopping will work
Walmart’s new Agent Gateway is designed to connect approved AI agents to its online inventory and purchasing tools through the Model Context Protocol, or MCP. According to The Verge, the gateway is currently in beta. Walmart says the connection should let agents complete shopping tasks without navigating its website through a browser.
Customers will link an Agent Profile to their Walmart account when they first use a particular agent through the gateway, TechCrunch reports. The profile will show purchases made by that agent separately from purchases the customer made directly. Shoppers can require approval for transactions or allow an agent to buy within a spending limit they set. The Verge says approval for every purchase will be the default and that customers can turn an agent off at any time. TechCrunch says profiles can be deleted and that a Walmart+ membership is not required.
Rules for agents and customer information
Walmart is setting terms for agents that use its site. Agents must stay within the shopper’s intended task and access only the information needed to complete it; Walmart says it will block agents that break those rules. The Verge reports that agents cannot change a customer’s payment method, while TechCrunch reports that they cannot access customers’ payment information.
Walmart says the gateway can help an agent find a customer’s usual products without giving the agent broader purchase history or personal information. TechCrunch also reports that Walmart’s returns process will apply to agent purchases, including when an agent does not act as intended.
A different approach to outside agents
Both outlets contrast Walmart’s approach with Amazon’s efforts to block shopping agents. The Verge reports that Amazon blocked Perplexity’s shopping agent and Meta’s Muse assistant. TechCrunch, meanwhile, reports that Walmart had previously announced a partnership with Muse and offers integrations with AI apps including ChatGPT and Gemini.
Walmart’s approach gives approved agents a route to shop while keeping authorization and purchase controls in the customer’s account. Whether shoppers make broad use of those controls remains to be seen; the reports describe the planned rollout, not its results.
Sources
This story was compiled by AI from the reports below. Read the originals for the full details.