Walmart Opens Walmart.com and Sam’s Club to AI Shopping Agents, With Spending Controls

Walmart is building a controlled route for AI shopping

Walmart is preparing its online stores for a new kind of customer: an AI agent authorized to search for products and place orders on someone’s behalf. On Oct. 21, 2026, the retailer announced Agent Profiles, the Walmart Agent Gateway and new rules for agents using its services. The program is designed to cover shopping through Walmart and Sam’s Club, according to the company. ^{[1] [2]}

The announcement marks a shift from agents navigating a standard retail website as if they were human shoppers. Walmart says that process can be slow and unreliable. Its Gateway is intended to provide a more direct connection, while Agent Profiles give customers a way to identify and control each agent linked to an account. ^{[1] [3]}

How Agent Profiles and spending limits are expected to work

Walmart says Agent Profiles are expected to launch in November. Customers will authorize an individual agent by linking its profile to their Walmart account, then choose whether each purchase needs approval or the agent can buy within a spending limit. Walmart’s examples include limits of $50, $100 or $200. Purchases made by agents will appear separately from a customer’s other orders, and customers will be able to disable or delete a profile. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

The company says agents will see the same prices as human shoppers, with applicable offers and fees shown before purchase. Walmart’s published terms also say its ordinary returns process will apply if an agent makes a purchase, while the company may require an additional approval even when an order falls below a customer’s limit. ^{[1] [3]}

Gateway beta centers on permissions and limited data sharing

The Agent Gateway will start with a beta for companies and developers. Walmart says it will use MCP, or Model Context Protocol, to let agents connect with its systems without relying only on browser interactions. The company says the connection can help an agent find a customer’s usual products without exposing the person’s broader purchase history to the agent. ^{[1] [3]}

Walmart’s rules say agents must not act beyond the shopper’s instructions, cannot receive payment-card information or change payment methods, and may access only information needed for the task and allowed by the customer. Walmart says it can block agents that violate those terms. The agent provider’s privacy policy also applies to information shared with its app, so customers may need to review both the retailer’s and provider’s policies. ^{[1] [2]}

A different bet in the fight over agentic commerce

Walmart’s approach contrasts with Amazon’s efforts to restrict some outside shopping agents, a difference noted by Reuters and Retail Dive. Walmart is betting that authorized access can bring its product selection and fulfillment network into shopping tools customers already use. Whether shoppers will trust software to make purchases, and whether the agents can reliably follow limits and instructions, remain open questions; the announced customer controls and developer beta are plans, not proof of broad consumer adoption. ^{[2] [3]}