Walmart plans limited beta for AI shopping agents

Walmart says customers will be able to shop with Walmart and Sam’s Club through chosen apps and AI agents, with permissions, controls and protections.[1][2] Its Agent Gateway lets an agent search Walmart’s online inventory and make purchases on a user’s behalf.[2] Walmart says it is working directly with OpenAI and Google so ChatGPT and Gemini can surface Walmart products and support checkout in chat.[4]

Walmart says Agent Profiles will launch in the next month, with a dedicated profile for each agent so customers can distinguish agent purchases from their own.[1] Customers can choose to approve every agent purchase or authorize purchases up to a spending limit they set; Walmart offered $50, $100 and $200 as examples.[1] A limit does not guarantee that an order will proceed without another check: Walmart says it may seek additional approval even when a purchase is within the limit.[1] These settings give customers options for how much discretion to delegate.

Walmart says it will begin the Agent Gateway with a beta for companies and developers, and its Gateway page describes early access as limited and invitation-only.[1][3] Walmart says agents can help find customers’ usual items without receiving their broader shopping history.[1] Agents cannot see customers’ payment-card information or add or change payment methods, according to Walmart.[1] Walmart also says agents that do not follow its terms will be blocked from the site, and its existing returns process applies if an agent does not act as intended.[1] AI agents and human shoppers see the same product prices, with applicable offers and fees shown before purchase; Walmart says a Walmart+ membership is not required.[1][2]

Amazon said it had not authorized Muse to access customer accounts, scrape data or process transactions.[5] The company has its own assistant, Alexa for Shopping, which can recommend and compare products and automate purchases.[5] In a separate dispute, Amazon won a March injunction blocking Perplexity’s Comet agent from shopping on Amazon for customers, but the Ninth Circuit vacated the injunction on August 4.[4] The contrast is not simply between agent shopping and no agent shopping: Walmart is opening a controlled route for outside agents, while Amazon’s own shopping assistant offers some automated functions.[2][1][3][5]