BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart says it is introducing tools that let customers authorize AI agents to shop on their behalf, set spending limits and track agent purchases separately in their accounts.
The initiative includes Agent Profiles, scheduled to launch next month; a Walmart Agent Gateway for developers and companies; and terms governing how agents operate. The tools are intended to support shopping at Walmart and Sam’s Club through third-party apps while giving customers control over purchases and access to their information.
The move builds on Walmart’s expansion into conversational commerce through its Sparky assistant and integrations with Muse, ChatGPT, Gemini and other platforms. It also addresses a practical challenge as AI agents take on more shopping tasks: distinguishing software actions from those taken by account holders.
Currently, Walmart said, agents sign in using a customer’s account, and their purchases appear alongside those made directly by the shopper. Agent Profiles will give each authorized agent a dedicated profile within that account, allowing customers to identify its purchases.
Customers can require approval for every transaction or allow purchases within a spending limit they set, such as $50, $100, or $200. They can delete an agent’s profile at any time. By default, purchase approval will be required, and Walmart may seek additional authorization even when a transaction falls within an agent’s spending limit.
The company compared the arrangement to adding an authorized cardholder to a credit card, with the account holder controlling spending and monitoring use.
Walmart also said shoppers using agents will get the same prices as people shopping on Walmart.com, with applicable offers and fees disclosed before purchase.
“We price products, not people,” the company said.
The Walmart Agent Gateway is intended to give agents a more direct, reliable way to shop. Agents may currently navigate Walmart’s website through a browser, following steps designed for people—a process the retailer described as potentially slow and error-prone.
Walmart will begin offering the gateway through a beta program for companies and developers. When a customer first uses an agent through the gateway, Walmart will automatically create an Agent Profile, which the customer can authorize and link by signing into a Walmart account.
The gateway also is designed to help agents locate frequently purchased products without receiving a customer’s broader purchase history. For example, Walmart could help an agent identify a shopper’s preferred bread or milk while limiting the information shared.
The accompanying terms prohibit agents from acting beyond a shopper’s intent. Agents will not receive payment-card information or be allowed to add or change payment methods, and they may access only information needed for an authorized task.
Walmart said its returns process will apply to agent purchases, including when an agent does not act as intended. Information received by an agent will be subject to the provider’s privacy policy, while Walmart will process information it receives under its own privacy notice.
The company said agents that fail to follow the terms will be blocked from Walmart’s site.
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