Walmart will let AI agents complete purchases on its site next month with spending caps and approval controls, while Amazon continues to block agentic shopping outright.
Walmart confirmed it will roll out agent-friendly shopping infrastructure next month, giving customers the ability to let AI agents browse, select, and buy on their behalf. The system includes spending limits and transaction review controls designed to keep humans in the approval loop.
The move puts Walmart directly at odds with Amazon's current stance of blocking AI agents from transacting on its marketplace. The split signals an early fork in how major retailers plan to handle the agentic commerce wave heading into 2027.
Whoever controls the checkout layer for AI agents controls a new distribution channel worth billions in future transaction volume. Walmart is betting that openness wins share faster than Amazon's lockdown approach, a bet every retail and marketplace operator now has to make a call on.
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