Walmart has announced two tools designed to let artificial intelligence assistants, including ChatGPT and Google Gemini, shop through its retail systems and purchase products on behalf of customers under defined permissions.
The tools, called Agent Gateway and Agent Profiles, are intended to connect external AI agents with Walmart’s commerce systems while giving shoppers control over purchasing authority, spending limits and access to their account information, according to Walmart’s announcement on October 21.
Agent Gateway provides the technical connection between compatible AI agents and Walmart’s shopping infrastructure. Agent Profiles allow customers to authorize individual agents, establish spending limits, review transactions and revoke access when they no longer want an assistant to shop for them.
Customers will be able to ask an AI assistant to find products and complete purchases within the permissions they have granted. Walmart says purchases require customer approval by default, and additional approval may be requested even when a transaction falls within an established spending limit.
The company also says external agents will not receive customers’ payment-card details or be allowed to add or change payment methods. Access to personal information is intended to be limited to what an agent needs to complete its authorized task. Customers can distinguish agent-made purchases from orders they place themselves.
Walmart’s gateway will initially enter beta testing for companies and developers. The retailer plans to begin rolling out Agent Profiles to customers in November 2026. The announcement does not establish that the service will immediately be available to every ChatGPT or Gemini user.
The move builds on Walmart’s existing integrations with AI shopping assistants. In January 2026, the retailer and Google announced plans to bring Walmart and Sam’s Club shopping into Gemini through Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol. The newly announced gateway uses the Model Context Protocol, a separate technical standard for connecting AI applications with external tools and services.
Walmart says products will carry the same prices through AI-assisted shopping as they do on Walmart.com. The retailer also intends to enforce its terms for participating agents and block systems that violate those rules.
The launch follows difficulties with Walmart’s earlier direct-checkout approach inside ChatGPT. In a March 2026 report, WIRED reported that Walmart executive Daniel Danker had described conversion rates for products purchased directly in ChatGPT as three times lower than rates for products that sent customers to Walmart’s website.
Walmart has not yet published adoption figures or sales results for the new gateway. Its initial developer beta and the planned November rollout will determine when businesses and customers can begin using the new agent-shopping controls.
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