Walmart Opens Up to Shopping AI Agents: The New Era of E-Commerce

Have you ever wished you had a personal assistant who could go shopping, choose products, compare prices, and check out for you without requiring you to open an app or click around? What used to be a dream for busy people has now become reality – at least at Walmart.

On October 21, 2026, Walmart officially announced the launch of two milestone tools: Agent Profiles and Walmart Agent Gateway. This is not a minor app update. This is a strategic declaration that Walmart will not sit out the game of agentic commerce – where AI agents execute transactions on behalf of humans.

And while Amazon is looking to restrict third-party AI agents' access to its platform, Walmart has chosen the opposite path: opening its doors. It is a bold gamble, and if successful, it could reshape the entire global e-commerce industry.

Join me, SilverZ, in dissecting this strategy from its roots. Because this is not just Walmart's story. This is the story of how we will shop in the next ten years.

Agent Profiles: When You Hand Over the Wallet Keys to an AI

Let's start with Agent Profiles – the core feature that Walmart will roll out in November 2026. This is a system that allows users to authorize individual AI agents to shop on their behalf.

What makes Agent Profiles different is not that it allows AI to make purchases – that has been tested in many places. What makes it different is the level of control it gives back to the user.

Specifically, each Agent Profile allows you to:

• Authorize individual AI agents separately: You can allow ChatGPT to buy groceries, but not electronics. You can let Gemini buy gifts, but set a budget limit.
• Track orders separately: Transactions made by AI agents are displayed distinctly from orders you make yourself. You always know what the AI has spent.
• Set spending limits: You can specify a maximum amount per transaction or per month.
• Require approval for each transaction: If you want absolute control, you can set a mode requiring the AI to ask for permission before payment.
• Revoke access at any time: If you feel uncomfortable, you can disable any agent's permissions immediately.

David Bellinger, an analyst at Mizuho, noted that these tools have built trust in the "experimental" shopping process of agentic commerce. He added: "Momentum and endorsement from senior management teams seem to be turning this into something real."

The key takeaway here is trust. Consumers will not hand over shopping authority to AI if they do not feel they remain in control. Agent Profiles are designed to solve precisely that worry.

Walmart Agent Gateway: The Open Door for Every AI Agent

If Agent Profiles are the "AI's electronic wallet," then Walmart Agent Gateway is the "connection portal" that allows external AI agents to access Walmart and Sam's Club systems.

Specifically, the Gateway allows AI assistants like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Gemini, and Meta's Muse to connect directly with Walmart's system to search for products and complete transactions. This is a revolutionary move because it turns Walmart from a destination into an open platform that any AI agent can interact with.

Think about what this means. Previously, if you wanted to buy something on Walmart, you had to go to the Walmart app or website. Now, you can tell ChatGPT: "Buy me 5 boxes of milk and 2 packs of baby diapers, delivered before 5 PM today" – and ChatGPT will automatically connect to Walmart, find the product, check inventory, and complete the order without you ever leaving the conversation.

Walmart affirms that customers will maintain control over transactions. AI agents are forbidden from accessing payment card data and can be blocked if they violate company rules. These are important safeguards, but they also raise questions about how Walmart will monitor and enforce these rules in practice.

An important detail: these tools will be available to all Walmart account holders and do not require a Walmart+ membership. This is a broad-reach strategy aimed at attracting maximum user participation into Walmart's agentic commerce ecosystem.

Head-to-Head with Amazon: Two Philosophies, Two Paths

It is impossible to analyze Walmart's move without comparing it to Amazon – the biggest competitor and a pioneer in many e-commerce trends.

While Walmart opens its doors to third-party AI agents, Amazon is looking to restrict their access. Amazon has long had a strategy of tightly controlling its ecosystem, and limiting external AI agents is part of that strategy.

Criteria	Walmart	Amazon
Approach Philosophy	Open, partnering with all AI agents	Tightly controlled, restricting third-party AI
Core Tools	Agent Profiles + Agent Gateway	Restricting external AI agent access
AI Partners	ChatGPT, Gemini, Muse	Prioritizing internal solutions
Goal	Become an open platform for agentic commerce	Protect the ecosystem and customer data

So who is right? The answer is not that simple.

Walmart's strategy has the advantage of expanding reach. If you allow ChatGPT to make purchases on Walmart, you are tapping into millions of ChatGPT users – people who may have never thought about shopping on Walmart. This is a way to expand the customer base without investing in traditional marketing.

But it also comes with risks. When you let external AI agents access your system, you are sharing control of the customer experience. If ChatGPT suggests a competitor's product instead of Walmart's, you cannot control it. You depend on third-party algorithms to decide what customers see.

Amazon's strategy protects control better, but it could leave them behind in the agentic commerce race. If consumers increasingly grow accustomed to shopping through AI agents, and Amazon is the only place that doesn't allow it, they could gradually lose market share to more open competitors.

This is a strategic gamble where both sides are betting on their vision of the future.

Agentic Commerce: An Irreversible Trend

Whether Walmart or Amazon is right, one thing is certain: agentic commerce is an irreversible trend.

Consumers are increasingly busy and increasingly accustomed to delegating decisions to AI. They already let AI recommend movies, music, and friends. Now, they are ready to let AI recommend products and even shop for them.

This raises important questions:

• Do brands still need their own websites? If AI agents can find and buy products without visiting your website, how will the website's role change?
• Will traditional advertising still be effective? If AI agents make purchasing decisions on behalf of users, how do you get your brand "chosen" by the AI?
• Will product data become the most important asset? When AI agents read structured data to make decisions, complete and accurate product data will be the key factor to get chosen.

These are not questions of the distant future. Walmart is turning them into reality today.

What Should Vietnamese Merchants Prepare For?

Even though tools like Agent Profiles and Agent Gateway have not yet been deployed in Vietnam, what Walmart is doing serves as an early warning for domestic sellers.

1. Standardize Product Data Right Now

AI agents do not read your website like humans do. They analyze structured data – attributes, pricing, inventory, reviews. If your data is missing or inconsistent, your product will be invisible to AI agents. Start standardizing your product data on e-commerce platforms and your own website today.

2. Build a Brand Strong Enough for AI Recognition

When AI makes recommendations, it relies on more than just product data. It relies on brand reputation – what the community says about you, customer reviews, and your presence on reputable platforms. Invest in building your brand not just on sales channels, but across every platform that AI can "read."

3. Learn and Experiment with AI Commerce Platforms

Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop in Vietnam are all integrating AI into the shopping experience. Closely monitor these changes and proactively test new features. Early movers will have the advantage.

4. Prepare for Shifts in Shopping Behavior

Vietnamese consumers, especially the younger generation, are increasingly accustomed to asking AI before making a purchase. Adapt your content and SEO strategy to align with how AI searches for and recommends information.

When "Shopping" Is No Longer a Human Action

I have witnessed e-commerce change from its early days with simple shopping carts, to the era of mobile apps, and then social media and influencers. Each wave has brought new opportunities and challenges. But never have I seen a shift as fundamental as this one.

Agentic commerce is not just a new feature. It is a change in the very nature of shopping behavior. From a world where humans actively search, compare, and decide, we are transitioning to a world where AI agents do that for us. Humans simply set the goals, and AI handles the rest.

Walmart is betting on that future. They might be right, they might be wrong. But one thing is certain: the game has changed. And those who do not prepare will be left behind.

Are you ready to hand over your shopping authority to an AI agent – letting it choose products, pay, and decide for you? What would make you trust it enough to delegate, and what would make you hesitate? If you are a seller in Vietnam, how will you prepare right now so you aren't left behind in an era where an AI agent might be your most important customer? Share your views below, because in this shopping revolution, silence means yielding the field to your competitors!