Walmart Welcomes AI Agents as Anthropic Launches Its Own
The retailer said customers can set approval rules and spending caps while approved agents search inventory and complete purchases without seeing payment data.
- On Wednesday, Walmart introduced an 'Agent Gateway' and 'Agent Profiles,' enabling AI agents to shop and complete transactions for customers as the retailer positions itself in the growing agentic commerce market.
- Amazon recently blocked third-party AI agents like Meta's Muse from its site, claiming they violate conditions of use; Walmart's move establishes specific operating terms to differentiate its approach from competitors.
- Launching next month, 'Agent Profiles' let customers authorize AI assistants with dedicated accounts, track purchases separately, and set spending limits such as $50, $100, or $200. Walmart requires approval by default for all transactions.
- The Agent Gateway uses the Model Context Protocol to protect customer data, barring agents from accessing payment card information or changing payment methods. Agents receive only information necessary to complete a specific task.
- Mizuho analyst David Bellinger noted these tools "instilled confidence in the" experimental shopping process of agentic purchases, suggesting industry momentum toward mainstream adoption. Anthropic also released agent capabilities this week across connected apps.
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The US shopping giant is taking the opposite approach to rival Amazon, which bars outside AI agents from its platform.
Walmart will launch AI agents to make purchases on behalf of customers, allowing separate spending control and profiles in the account. Amazon, on the other hand, blocks external agents and fosters its own artificial intelligence tools for purchases.
Walmart welcomes AI agents as Anthropic launches its own
U.S. shopping giant Walmart on Wednesday unveiled tools allowing artificial intelligence agents such as Meta’s Muse to shop on behalf of its customers, taking the opposite approach to rival Amazon, which bars outside AI agents from its platform.
Walmart is inviting AI agents to shop for you
Walmart will soon let AI agents shop on its website for you. Next month, the retail giant will allow you to connect your own AI agent to the site, with systems in place to let you approve and review purchases and set spending limits. The embrace of AI agents stands in stark contrast to Amazon, […]
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