Walmart Sets Rules for AI Shopping Agents: an MCP Agent Gateway, Per-Agent Profiles With Spending Limits and Written Terms
Walmart said it will launch Agent Profiles within the next month, letting customers give each AI agent its own profile, require approval for every purchase or set a spending limit, and see its purchases separately. Its Walmart Agent Gateway, an MCP server starting as a beta for companies and developers, will let approved agents search and buy. New terms bar agents from card details and say non-compliant agents will be blocked. TechCrunch contrasts this with Amazon, which has begun blocking agents.
Walmart is writing down the terms on which AI agents may shop for its customers, while Amazon, TechCrunch reports, has begun blocking them. On Wednesday, October 21, Walmart introduced Agent Profiles, the Walmart Agent Gateway and a set of terms for AI agents, covering shopping at Walmart and Sam's Club. TechCrunch reports the move comes shortly after Amazon began blocking AI agents from making purchases on shoppers' behalf.
Profiles, a gateway and rules
Agent Profiles, which Walmart says will launch within the next month, will let a customer authorise each AI agent with its own profile inside their account, see that agent's purchases separately, and either require approval for every purchase or allow purchases within a spending limit, "for example, $50, $100 or $200." Walmart likens it to adding a cardholder to a credit card. It says prices an agent sees are the same as a human sees on Walmart.com.
The Walmart Agent Gateway will give agents a direct way to search and buy over the Model Context Protocol (MCP) instead of navigating the website built for people, starting with a beta for companies and developers. Walmart says it will help agents find a customer's usual items without sharing the customer's broader purchase history with the agent.
Under the new terms, customers must approve agent purchases by default, agents must not act beyond what the shopper intends, agents do not receive payment-card details and cannot add or change payment methods, and Walmart's returns process applies "including if an agent doesn't act as intended." Agents that do not follow the terms will be blocked, Walmart says. Walmart already offers shopping through Muse, ChatGPT, Gemini and others, it says, and was named as a partner when Meta and Sierra announced the Personal Agent Protocol on October 6.
Limits
- Agent Profiles have not launched and the gateway starts as a beta; how the terms are enforced is not described in detail.
- Walmart's statement that agents see the same prices as people is a company policy, not an audited finding.
Sources
- Walmart: Walmart Makes It Possible for Agents to Shop on Behalf of Customers, While Keeping Customers in Control (October 21, 2026)
- TechCrunch: While Amazon blocks AI agents, Walmart rolls out the welcome mat (October 21, 2026)
- Times of AI: Meta and Sierra Announce Personal Agent Protocol — No Spec Yet, OpenAI Outside (October 7, 2026)