While Amazon blocks AI agents, Walmart rolls out the welcome mat

Walmart is taking the opposite path from Amazon on AI shopping bots. On Wednesday, the retailer said it is rolling out an Agent Gateway, a new way for approved AI agents to search its inventory and complete purchases for shoppers. It also applies to Sam’s Club, and Walmart framed the move as preparation for a world where agentic commerce is no longer niche.

The core piece is the company’s new MCP server, built around the model context protocol originally created by Anthropic. In practice, that means an AI agent can connect to Walmart, look through online stock, and buy things on a user’s behalf. Walmart says the setup can also let people shop for familiar brands or items without handing over personal information or purchase history directly to the agent.

And the retailer is adding some guardrails. Starting next month, Agent Profiles will let customers assign each AI agent its own profile inside a Walmart account, so agent-made purchases are kept separate from the customer’s own. Shoppers will also be able to choose whether every transaction needs approval or whether the agent can spend up to a limit they set. The company compares that to adding an authorized user on a credit card, only with more software and less small talk.

Walmart says these profiles are created the first time a shopper uses a given agent through the gateway. From there, the user links the profile to their account, sets the rules, and can delete it at any time. The feature is available to anyone with a Walmart account, not just Walmart+ members.

There’s also a legal layer. Walmart is setting special terms for AI agents and says its normal returns process still applies, even if an agent goes rogue and buys the wrong thing. Agents are not supposed to act beyond what the shopper intended, cannot access payment information, and only get the data needed for the task. If they break the rules, Walmart says they get blocked.