Walmart will soon let AI agents shop on its website for you. Next month, the retail giant will let you connect your own AI agent to the site, with systems in place that will allow you to approve and review purchases and set spending limits.
The adoption of AI agents stands in stark contrast to Amazon, which blocked Perplexity’s purchasing agent and Meta’s Muse AI assistant. But Walmart is opening its doors to AI shoppers, as long as they follow the retailer’s rules. It has outlined a set of terms for agents, saying that “agents must not take actions beyond what the buyer intends” and cannot change a client’s payment method. Agents can also access only the information necessary to complete their task. Walmart says it will block agents who do not follow these terms.
Agents will be connected to new “Agent Profiles” within Walmart. By default, Walmart will require approval for all AI agent purchases, but it can also allow you to purchase within a certain budget, such as up to $100. You will also be able to review your agent’s purchases separately from your own in Agent Profiles, as well as deactivate the agent at any time.
The retailer has created an “Agent Gateway” that connects AI agents through the Model Context Protocol, an open standard that allows AI agents to connect to different services on the web. Walmart says this not only allows AI agents to shop without the hiccups they might encounter when browsing a browser, but it also prevents them from accessing your purchase history and personal information.
“For example, if a customer tends to purchase sourdough bread or a particular brand of milk, Walmart will help the agent find those common items for the customer without sharing the customer’s broader purchase history with the agent,” Walmart says. The company will also allow users to shop with AI agents at Sam’s Club.
