Walmart is opening its platform to AI agents to shop for customers

Walmart $WMT introduced tools on Wednesday that let AI agents search for products and complete purchases for shoppers, according to Reuters. The tools are open to anyone with a Walmart account, and no Walmart+ subscription is needed, according to Reuters.

The retailer rolled out the Walmart Agent Gateway, which links assistants like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google $GOOGL's Gemini and Meta $META's Muse with the systems that run Walmart and Sam's Club, according to Reuters. According to TechCrunch, the gateway is a server built on the model context protocol, which Anthropic created, and it is meant for approved agents. TechCrunch also reports that the gateway can help shoppers shop for their usual brands while keeping their personal details and past orders away from the agent.

Walmart will roll out Agent Profiles in November, according to Reuters. Shoppers will be able to approve specific agents, follow the purchases those agents make apart from their own orders, cap what an agent can spend or demand sign-off on every transaction, and cut off an agent's access whenever they choose.

A profile is set up when a shopper first connects a particular agent via the gateway, according to TechCrunch. The shopper links it to a Walmart account and then sets controls. Walmart compares the setup to adding an authorized user to a credit card, according to TechCrunch.

Agents have no access to payment card data, and Walmart can cut off any that break its rules, according to Reuters. Walmart has introduced terms for agents that keep its standard return policy in force even if an agent fails to do what the shopper wanted, according to TechCrunch. The terms bar agents from going beyond what the shopper intends and limit them to the information a task requires, according to TechCrunch.

Walmart President and CEO John Furner discussed the plans at the Masters of Scale Summit in San Francisco on Wednesday, according to TechCrunch. Furner said the company is gearing up for a future in which shopping through AI agents is commonplace, according to TechCrunch.

The announcement stands in contrast to Amazon $AMZN, which has tried to curb how far outside AI shopping tools can reach into its platform, according to Reuters. Amazon recently started barring AI agents from buying items for online shoppers, and Walmart previously revealed a tie-up with Meta’s Muse and already supports connections to ChatGPT and Gemini, according to TechCrunch.