Walmart opens shopping to approved AI agents with spending controls
By Automate Basics, written with AI from TechCrunch's original
Walmart has launched Agent Gateway so approved AI agents can search its inventory and buy for customers, TechCrunch reports. Account holders will also get controls for approving and tracking agent purchases, which may help people who use AI to order routine work supplies.
What changed
Walmart has launched Agent Gateway, a way for approved AI agents to connect to its online inventory, search for items and make purchases for customers, according to TechCrunch. Walmart says the system supports shopping at both Walmart and Sam’s Club. It is designed to help an agent find a customer’s usual items without the customer sharing personal information or purchase history directly with that agent.
Walmart also announced Agent Profiles, which are due to roll out next month. Each profile will let a customer authorize a particular agent, distinguish its purchases from their own and choose how transactions are approved. Customers will be able to require approval for every purchase or permit purchases within a spending limit they set. Walmart says agents cannot access payment information or act beyond what a shopper intends. Its returns process will apply to agent purchases, including when an agent does not act as intended.
Who can use Walmart's agent shopping?
Anyone with a Walmart account can use supported agents, according to Walmart. A Walmart+ membership is not required. The Agent Gateway is for approved agents rather than any AI tool that attempts to shop on the site, and Walmart says it will block agents that do not follow its terms. The source does not list every approved agent or say whether a particular agent is available to every account holder now.
Agent Profiles are scheduled for next month, so the purchase controls described in the announcement should not be treated as available yet. TechCrunch does not report a price for Agent Gateway or Agent Profiles. For someone buying supplies for work, the relevant account is still a Walmart account: the report does not describe separate business-account features, team permissions or an employer purchasing plan.
How do I try agent shopping for work supplies?
A routine supply order is a sensible first task for an approved shopping agent, provided you already have a Walmart account and an agent that supports the connection. Ask it to look for familiar items rather than placing a complicated order involving many substitutions. Before approving any purchase, check the item, quantity and total against what you intended to buy. The source does not provide a list of supported agents or instructions for finding one.
When Agent Profiles become available, Walmart says an account holder can authorize and link a profile the first time a particular agent shops through Agent Gateway, then choose per-purchase approval or a spending limit. Check those controls before letting an agent place repeat orders. Walmart says profiles can be deleted, and agent purchases will appear separately from purchases made directly by the customer.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need Walmart+ to shop with an AI agent?
No. Walmart says agent support is available to anyone with a Walmart account, without a Walmart+ membership. The agent must be approved to connect through Agent Gateway. TechCrunch does not report a fee for the gateway or for Agent Profiles.
Can an AI agent buy something without asking me each time?
Walmart says its forthcoming Agent Profiles will let you choose between approving every transaction and allowing transactions within a spending limit you set. Profiles are due to roll out next month. The report does not say that these controls are available to customers yet.
What happens if an agent orders the wrong item?
Walmart says its returns process applies to purchases made by agents, including cases where an agent does not act as the shopper intended. Customers will be able to see agent purchases separately through Agent Profiles when those profiles roll out.
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Written with AI from TechCrunch's original and published after automatic checks: every figure here appears in the original, and no sentence is copied from it. The picture is AI-generated. The original is the authority.
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Source: While Amazon blocks AI agents, Walmart rolls out the welcome mat, TechCrunch, 21 Oct 2026.