U.S. retailer Walmart introduced solutions that will allow AI agents to make purchases on behalf of customers, with customizable spending limits and transaction controls.
Walmart, one of the world’s largest retail chains, announced the launch of Agent Profiles and Walmart Agent Gateway, solutions designed to integrate third-party AI agents with Walmart and Sam’s Club shopping platforms. The new infrastructure will allow users to delegate order placement to autonomous agents, set spending limits, and manage transaction permissions. The company also introduced rules governing how third-party AI agents interact with its platform.
Agent Profiles will allow customers to create a separate profile for each connected AI agent within their accounts. Orders placed by agents will appear separately from purchases made directly by users.
Account holders will be able to choose how transactions are authorized. They can either approve each purchase manually or allow an agent to pay for orders independently within a predefined spending limit. Users will also be able to disable or delete an agent’s profile at any time.
Agent Profiles is expected to launch within a month.
Walmart Agent Gateway will give AI agents direct access to the retailer’s commerce infrastructure through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). The solution is designed to replace conventional browser-based interactions, which require agents to perform a sequence of actions intended for human users. According to Walmart, this approach slows down order placement and increases the likelihood of errors.
One feature of Walmart Agent Gateway will be personalized recommendations for frequently purchased products without giving AI agents access to customers’ complete order histories or personal information. For example, the system will be able to identify a customer’s preferred type of bread or brand of milk and provide the agent with the information needed to place an order.
Walmart hasn’t disclosed an exact timeline for the commercial launch of Walmart Agent Gateway. The solution will initially be released in beta for companies and developers.
Walmart also emphasized security requirements and the separation of permissions. The company established the following rules for third-party AI agents:
By default, every purchase requires customer approval unless the customer has authorized the agent to conduct transactions within a specified spending limit.
Walmart reserves the right to request additional confirmation even for transactions that fall within authorized limits.
AI agents are prohibited from accessing payment card details, adding new payment methods, or modifying existing ones.
Access to customer information is limited to data necessary to complete a specific task and provided directly by the user.
Purchases made through AI agents are subject to Walmart’s standard return policy, including cases where agents execute instructions incorrectly.
Agents that violate the established requirements will be blocked from the retailer’s platform.
Information shared with a third-party AI agent will be processed under the privacy policy of the agent’s developer. Walmart will continue to process data received from agents under its own privacy policy.
The company also emphasized that using AI agents won’t affect product prices. Automated shoppers will receive the same prices as regular Walmart.com customers. Applicable discounts, offers, and additional fees must be displayed before a transaction is completed.
The new infrastructure will complement Walmart’s existing AI-powered shopping tools, including its own assistant, Sparky, and integrations with ChatGPT, Gemini, and Muse. For more on agentic commerce, read CP Media’s dedicated article.
