Walmart Launches Agent Gateway and Profiles to Enable Controlled AI Shopping

U.S. retail giant Walmart announced on October 21, 2026, the launch of "Agent Gateway," a new infrastructure designed to help authorized AI agents shop on its website. This move marks a formal embrace of "agentic commerce" by a major retailer, standing in stark contrast to competitor Amazon's recent decision to block AI agents.

Agent Gateway is a server based on the Model Context Protocol (MCP), originally developed by Anthropic to allow AI agents to connect to external data sources and tools. Through this gateway, approved AI agents can search Walmart's online inventory and make purchases on behalf of users. Walmart stated that the technology will also support agentic shopping at its discount warehouse chain, Sam’s Club.

To address concerns about privacy and control, Walmart introduced two key accompanying measures. First, the Agent Gateway is designed to help customers shop without sharing personal information or purchase history directly with the agent. Second, "Agent Profiles," rolling out next month, will allow users to create dedicated profiles for each AI agent they use within their account. Users can view agent transactions separately and set controls, such as requiring approval for each transaction or setting spending limits, similar to managing an authorized user on a credit card.

Additionally, Walmart has established special "terms" for AI agents, defining their operational rights and liability boundaries. Notably, Walmart committed that its existing returns process applies to transactions made by AI agents, even if the agent misbehaves. This policy lowers the risk barrier for consumers trying new technology. The terms also stipulate that agents cannot access payment information and must only retrieve data necessary for the task; non-compliant agents will be blocked from accessing the site.