Walmart Opens Its Doors to AI Shopping Agents With New Agent Gateway

Walmart is rolling out new technology to let AI agents shop on customers' behalf, a move that sets it apart from Amazon, which recently began blocking such agents from making purchases.

At the Masters of Scale Summit in San Francisco on Wednesday, Walmart President and CEO John Furner outlined the company's plans, starting with its Agent Gateway - a new MCP server that lets approved agents connect to Walmart and search its online inventory to buy items for users. The system will cover both Walmart and Sam's Club.

The retailer says the gateway lets customers shop for their usual brands without sharing personal information or purchase history directly with the agent. Agent Profiles, launching next month, will give each AI agent a dedicated profile so its purchases appear separately from the customer's own, with shoppers able to require approval for every transaction or set spending limits. The controls resemble adding an authorized user to a credit card.

Walmart is also introducing terms for AI agents that specify how they may operate on its site. The company says its returns process applies even when an agent doesn't act as intended, and agents that don't comply will be blocked. Walmart had already partnered with Meta's Muse and offers integrations with apps including ChatGPT and Gemini.