Walmart said it will let shoppers connect their own AI agents to its website next month, with controls for approving purchases and setting spending limits. An AI agent is a software program that can carry out tasks, such as shopping, on a person's behalf. The move contrasts with Amazon, which has blocked Perplexity's shopping agent and Meta's Muse AI assistant. Walmart says agents are welcome only if they follow the retailer's rules.
Rules agents must follow
Walmart has set out terms for agents. It says that “agents must not take actions beyond what the shopper intends” and that they cannot change a customer’s payment method. Agents may access only the information needed to complete their task. Walmart says it will block agents that do not follow these terms.
How the setup works
Agents will connect through new “Agent Profiles” inside Walmart. By default, every purchase by an AI agent needs the shopper’s approval. A shopper can instead allow the agent to buy within a set budget, such as up to $100, and can review the agent's purchases separately from their own. The agent can also be turned off at any time.
Walmart has built what it calls an “Agent Gateway”, which connects agents through the Model Context Protocol. This is an open standard that lets AI tools plug into different online services. Walmart says this lets agents shop without the problems they can meet when navigating a web browser, and that it keeps agents away from a shopper's history and personal information. As an example, if a customer usually buys sourdough bread or a particular brand of milk, Walmart will help the agent find those items without sharing the customer's wider shopping history.
What comes next
The rollout starts next month. Walmart said the same kind of agent shopping will also be available on Sam's Club, its membership warehouse chain. Shoppers who want to try it will set up an agent through Agent Profiles and decide how much it may spend.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Walmart agle mahine se apni website par AI shopping agents ko shopper ke apne account se jorne dega. Agent ki har kharidari par pehle aapki manzoori lagegi, lekin aap ek budget tay kar sakte hain, jaise 100 dollar tak. Agent aapki poori shopping history nahi dekh sakega, aur aap jab chahein usay band kar sakte hain. Pakistani readers ke liye yeh khabar AI se khareedari ke naye rujhan ko samajhne ka mauqa hai.
