Walmart will let shoppers use AI agents to make purchases
By Automate Basics, written with AI from The Verge's original
Walmart plans to allow AI agents to shop on its site next month, The Verge reports. Shoppers will be able to approve purchases, set spending limits and review agent orders separately from their own.
What changed
Walmart plans to let shoppers use AI agents to buy items on its site next month, according to The Verge. An agent will connect through a Walmart Agent Profile. By default, the shopper must approve every purchase, though they can instead allow the agent to buy within a spending limit. Agent purchases will appear separately from the shopper’s own purchases, and the shopper can turn the agent off.
Walmart has also set rules for agents. According to the report, they must stay within the shopper’s instructions, cannot change a payment method and may access only information needed for the task. Walmart says it will block agents that break those rules. A separate connection system, currently in beta, is intended to help agents shop without giving them access to a customer’s broader shopping history or personal information.
Who can use Walmart’s AI agent shopping?
Walmart shoppers are the intended users of the coming agent shopping option, and The Verge reports that Walmart also plans to allow AI agent shopping on Sam’s Club. The report gives next month as the timing for Walmart’s site, but does not specify a separate start date for Sam’s Club. It does not name eligible AI agents or say whether every shopper will have access at launch.
The Verge does not report a price for using an agent with Walmart, or identify a required plan or subscription. For someone buying supplies for work, the important distinction is that Walmart has described shopper controls, not a business purchasing system. The report does not say whether Agent Profiles support company approvals, shared accounts or expense records.
How do I try it for work purchases?
A routine, easy-to-check supply purchase would be a sensible first task once Walmart makes agent shopping available. Ask an agent for familiar items, then compare its proposed purchase with the quantities, product choices and spending limit you intended. Keeping approval required at first would let you inspect an order before it goes through. The Verge reports that approval is the default, not that agents will always need it.
After a purchase, check the separate agent purchase record against the order you expected. Walmart says an agent should not exceed your instructions or change your payment method, but those rules are not a reason to skip checking its work. The report does not provide a setup procedure or identify compatible agents, so there is no confirmed sequence of steps to follow yet.
Frequently asked questions
Will a Walmart AI agent be able to buy things without asking me?
Walmart will require approval for agent purchases by default, according to The Verge. Shoppers can instead permit an agent to buy within a spending limit. Agent Profiles will also let shoppers review agent purchases separately and turn the agent off.
Can a shopping agent see my Walmart purchase history?
Walmart says its agent connection system is designed to help an agent find relevant items without giving it access to a shopper’s broader purchase history or personal information. The Verge also reports that Walmart’s rules limit agents to information needed for their assigned task.
How much will Walmart’s AI agent shopping cost?
The Verge does not report a fee, subscription requirement or eligible plan for Walmart’s agent shopping option. It reports that shopping on Walmart’s site is planned for next month, but does not identify which AI agents shoppers will be able to use.
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Written with AI from The Verge'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: Walmart is inviting AI agents to shop for you, The Verge, 21 Oct 2026.