Walmart launches Agent Gateway for AI shopping agents
Original title: While Amazon blocks AI agents, Walmart rolls out the welcome mat
Any Walmart account can link agents next month; no Walmart+ plan is required, and returns still apply if an agent misbehaves.
Walmart announced an MCP server, Agent Gateway, so approved AI agents can search inventory and buy for customers on Walmart and Sam’s Club. Agent Profiles, due next month, separate agent orders from the shopper’s and let customers require approval or set a spending cap. Walmart’s agent terms bar actions beyond the shopper’s intent and access to payment data; noncompliant agents are blocked. The retailer already works with Meta’s Muse and apps including ChatGPT and Gemini, while Amazon has been blocking shopping agents.
- The first use of an agent through the gateway creates its Agent Profile.
- Customers can delete an Agent Profile at any time.
- CEO John Furner described the rollout at the Masters of Scale Summit.
- MCP was originally created by Anthropic.
- Walmart says usual brands can be found without sharing purchase history with the agent.
- Vendors
- Walmart
- Products
- Agent GatewayAgent Profiles
- Organizations
- AmazonSam's ClubMetaAnthropic
From the original article
3 min read at techcrunch.com
As Amazon blocks AI agents from shopping on its site, Walmart is taking the opposite approach, introducing new technology that lets AI agents make purchases on customers' behalf, with controls over spending and transaction approvals.
By Sarah Perez · techcrunch.com
A short excerpt; the article and its images belong to the publisher. Summary, key facts and assessment above are AI-written from the article and can be wrong.