Walmart is building a direct connection that will allow third-party AI agents to search its product catalog and complete purchases for customers, moving agentic shopping from browser automation toward retailer-controlled transaction infrastructure.
The Walmart Agent Gateway will connect assistants including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and Meta’s Muse with Walmart and Sam’s Club systems. The retailer said it will begin with a beta program for companies and developers, replacing a process in which agents navigate websites designed for people – an approach Walmart described as slow and error-prone.
Walmart will also introduce Agent Profiles within the next month. Customers will be able to authorize each agent separately, track its orders, revoke access and either approve every transaction or let the agent buy within a preset spending limit. The retailer said agents will not receive customers’ payment-card information or be allowed to add or change payment methods.
The profiles are designed to separate automated purchases from orders placed directly by customers and establish accountability when an agent acts incorrectly. Walmart said its normal returns policy will apply to agent purchases and agents that violate its rules can be blocked.
The gateway can use a customer’s Walmart history to help an agent find frequently purchased products without disclosing the broader history to the agent, according to Walmart’s announcement.
The strategy contrasts with Amazon’s efforts to restrict some outside shopping agents from accessing its platform, Reuters reported. Walmart is instead seeking to make its catalog and checkout system available wherever consumers use AI assistants while retaining control over prices, payment data and transaction rules.
Walmart did not disclose the beta’s launch date, participating developers or transaction targets. The announcement therefore establishes the technical and permission framework for agent commerce, but not evidence that consumers are yet using autonomous agents for purchases at scale.