Walmart launches Agent Gateway to let AI agents shop on its site

Walmart President and CEO John Furner announced on October 21 at the Masters of Scale Summit in San Francisco that the retailer is launching Agent Gateway, a new MCP server designed to let approved AI agents connect to Walmart over the model context protocol (MCP), search online inventory, and make purchases on behalf of users. The move comes as rival Amazon begins blocking AI agents from shopping on its platform.

MCP was originally created by Anthropic and allows AI agents to connect to external data sources, tools, and workflows. Through Agent Gateway, an AI agent can search Walmart's online inventory and complete purchases without requiring users to share personal information or purchase history directly with the agent. Walmart said it also developed technology to distinguish agent-initiated transactions from those made directly by customers, giving shoppers more control over what their agents can do.

The retailer said a new Agent Profiles feature will roll out in November 2026. Users will be able to authorize each AI agent with a dedicated profile linked to their Walmart account, view agent purchases separately from their own, and choose to require approval for each transaction or set a spending limit. Agent Profiles will be available to anyone with a Walmart account, and a Walmart+ membership is not required.

Walmart also introduced specific terms for AI agents, stating that agents cannot act beyond what the shopper intends, cannot access payment information, and may only access information needed for the given task. Agents that do not comply will be blocked from accessing Walmart's site. Walmart previously announced a partnership with Meta's AI agent Muse and offers integrations with popular AI apps including ChatGPT and Gemini.