Walmart opens up to AI shopping agents with Agent Gateway and Agent Profiles

What's new

On October 21, 2026, at the Masters of Scale Summit in San Francisco, Walmart unveiled two new tools for AI agents, meaning programs that can act on your behalf. It also introduced a set of special terms for agents.

The first is Agent Gateway. It is a so-called MCP server (Model Context Protocol), a kind of standardized doorway where approved AI agents can connect to Walmart's inventory and buy items for a customer. The gateway is in early beta, available by invitation only, and aimed at businesses and developers. Regular users can't use it yet.

The second is Agent Profiles. They are scheduled to roll out in November 2026. The idea is that a customer can give a single AI agent its own profile on the Walmart account.

What's smart

The gateway gives agents real-time product data without sharing the customer's personal information or purchase history. The agent can see what's in stock without looking over the customer's shoulder.

When Agent Profiles rolls out, the agent's purchases will be shown separately from the customer's own purchases and purchase history. It will be easy to see what the bot has bought, and your own history won't get mixed up with it.

The upcoming feature also includes controls: Customers should be able to set spending limits, for example $50, $100 or $200, or require approval for each individual purchase. The profile can be deleted whenever you want.

Walmart's terms also set boundaries for the agents. They may not access payment information directly, change payment methods, take unintended actions or access unnecessary customer data.

Cheaper or better?

Pricing hasn't been disclosed, and the sources mention no fees for the tools. Agent support is open to anyone with a Walmart account, and Walmart+ isn't required. It covers both Walmart and Sam's Club.

If something goes wrong, Walmart's standard return policy also applies to purchases made by agents, even if the agent made the mistake. That gives customers some peace of mind.

The comparison with competitors comes down to strategy. Amazon began blocking AI agents from its platform in September 2026, while Walmart is taking the opposite approach and welcoming them. That only applies to approved agents, though: Unauthorized agents that scrape or interact with the site risk being blocked.

Walmart mentions partnerships and integrations with ChatGPT, Gemini, Meta Muse (announced in September 2026) and its own assistant Sparky.

Who it's good for

In the long run, it's meant for people who want an AI assistant to handle routine shopping, for example filling the cart within a budget they set themselves. Limits and approval let you give the agent some slack without losing track of what it's doing.

For now, it's mostly of interest to businesses and developers who build AI agents and can get an invitation to the beta.

For Danish readers, there is a caveat: The sources don't say whether the tools will come to Denmark or the EU. They appear to apply to US Walmart and Sam's Club accounts.