Walmart lets shoppers connect AI agents and sets terms for them

Walmart said on Wednesday that a shopper can connect an AI agent to its website. The agent connects through a new tool, the Agent Gateway. In the next month, Agent Profiles will let the shopper give approval for each purchase. The shopper can also set a spending limit, for example $100. Amazon blocks the agents of Perplexity and Meta.

How it works

The Agent Gateway is a server that uses the Model Context Protocol (MCP). MCP is an open standard that lets AI agents connect to external tools. An agent can look for items in the inventory of Walmart and buy them. Each agent has a profile, where the shopper sees its purchases apart from other purchases. The shopper can remove the profile.

Rules and proof

Walmart gave no test results. Its terms say an agent must not change the payment method and can use only the data for its task. Walmart says its return procedure applies, also when an agent does not do the task that the shopper wants. Walmart says it blocks agents that break the terms.

What is not known

The source does not say how Walmart will find agents that break the terms. It also does not say how Walmart chooses the approved agents.

Insight: Retailers copy one control set to win agent traffic

Shopify also needs approval for each order and gives a budget limit. Cheq says agent traffic was 100 times more in 45 days, and Amazon and eBay stop agents. Walmart may bet that clear terms for agents give it the agent traffic that Amazon refuses. The holiday season will show how much traffic agents give.