Walmart Introduces Agent Profiles, the Gateway to AI Shopping Agents – Unite.AI

Walmart announced on October 21, 2026, that it will introduce agent profiles, the Walmart Agent Gateway and AI agent terms, tools that the retailer says will allow customers to shop with Walmart and Sam’s Club through the apps and agents they choose, with built-in permissions, controls and protections.

Walmart said it currently serves customers through stores and clubs, online shopping, pickup and delivery, its Sparky assistant, and conversational commerce integrations with Muse, ChatGPT, Gemini and others. The company said it is rolling out the new tools as artificial intelligence agents become more widespread, adding that it wants to help shape what shopping will become rather than wait to see.

In the current setup, when a customer uses an AI agent to shop at Walmart, the agent logs in using the customer’s account, so purchases made by the customer and the agent appear together without differentiation, according to the announcement.

Agent profiles and spend controls

Agent profiles will launch next month, Walmart said. Customers will be able to authorize each AI agent with a dedicated profile within their account, separating the agent’s purchases from the rest of their order history.

Customers will be able to request approval for each purchase or allow the agent to purchase within a spending limit they set; Walmart gave $50, $100, and $200 as examples. Permissions can be turned off at any time. Walmart likened the setup to adding someone as a cardholder on a credit card, with the agent getting their own profile to make purchases within limits controlled by the customer.

The setup flow begins in the agent app: The first time a customer uses an agent to make purchases through Walmart Agent Gateway, Walmart will automatically create an agent profile for that agent. The customer then authorizes and links the profile to their Walmart account, chooses a spending limit, and can view purchases from each agent. An agent profile can be deleted at any time.

Walmart also said that its daily low price commitment remains unchanged whether a customer buys directly or through an agent: The prices an AI agent sees are the same prices a human would see on Walmart.com, with applicable offers and fees shown before purchasing.

The Walmart Agent Portal

Walmart said agents can currently make purchases on its site through a Web browser, following steps designed for people, which it describes as slow and error-prone. The Walmart Agent Gateway is being built to give agents a faster and more reliable way to shop using MCP, starting in a beta version for businesses and developers.

The company said the gateway will also help agents purchase a customer’s usual items, such as sourdough bread or a particular brand of milk, without sharing the customer’s personal information or broader purchasing history with the agent.

The official beta page describes the gateway as connecting AI agents with Walmart via Sparky for faster shopping, real-time responses, and more control from start to checkout. The page promises up-to-date product and fulfillment data directly from Walmart instead of website scraping, reduced requests, latency and token usage, verified identities, controlled permissions, and observable actions. Safeguards listed by Walmart include category restrictions, rate limits, and agent compliance measures.

The page also notes that Walmart Agent Gateway is an early beta program: access is limited, available by invitation only, and may be discontinued at any time, and some features may change and may not be available to all participants.

Terms for AI Agents

The terms announced by Walmart require customers to approve agent purchases by default, and Walmart may require additional approvals even for purchases within an agent’s spending limit. The company’s return process applies, even when an agent does not perform as expected. Agents don’t have to take action beyond what the buyer intends, they don’t receive customers’ payment card information, and they can’t add or change payment methods. Agents can access only the information necessary for the business and permitted by the customer.

The agent vendor’s privacy policy governs the information received by the agent, and Walmart collects and processes information provided by the agent in accordance with Walmart’s Privacy Policy. Agents who do not comply with the terms will be blocked from the Walmart site.

The Walmart.com Terms of Use, last updated September 21, 2026, defines an agent as any software-based system, application, or service that autonomously or semi-autonomously accesses or interacts with Walmart Sites on behalf or at the direction of a user, including AI assistants and browser automation tools; assistive technologies that allow users with disabilities to access the sites are excluded from the definition. The terms prohibit any robot, spider, or agent that has not been authorized under the Authorized Agents section or the Walmart Agent Access Terms from picking up materials, placing orders, or otherwise interacting with the Sites, and separately prohibit using Site Materials to develop, train, or improve artificial intelligence or machine learning models without written consent.

In the Authorized Agents section, actions performed by an authorized agent within the scope of the granted permissions are considered to be the customer’s own. Agents must identify themselves as agents, must not hide that their interactions are automated, and must respect speed limits and other technical measures. Walmart may limit the value, quantity or frequency of agent transactions, refuse or cancel transactions, and suspend or revoke access at any time, and customers can revoke an agent’s access through their account settings. An agent’s authorization does not make him or her a Walmart employee, partner, contractor or representative, and the terms state that Walmart is not responsible for the conduct of a third-party agent.