Walmart launches tools for AI agents to shop for customers as Anthropic launches its own

• Walmart will introduce new “Agent Profiles” that let AI agents shop for customers. Customers can approve each purchase or set a spending limit. Purchases made by agents will be kept separate from customers' personal orders.
• More technology companies, including OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and Meta, are investing in AI agents. Many see them as the next big step in AI after ChatGPT.
• Amazon is taking the opposite approach. It blocks outside shopping agents, including Meta's Muse, while promoting its own AI tools, such as Alexa for Shopping and Buy for Me.

Walmart, a major US retailer, announced on Oct 21 that it would introduce tools allowing AI agents, such as Meta's Muse, to shop for customers. This is the opposite of what rival Amazon does, as Amazon blocks outside AI agents from using its platform.

AI agents are computer programmes that can complete several steps of a task for someone. For example, they can search for products, compare prices and make a purchase. Unlike chatbots, which mainly answer questions, agents can carry out tasks on a user's behalf.

Technology companies such as OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and Meta are spending heavily on AI agents. Much of the industry sees these agents as the next stage of the AI boom that began after ChatGPT launched in late 2022.

On Oct 21, Anthropic released a preview of Claude Duet. This AI agent works in the background across apps connected to a user's account and can make online purchases after getting the user's approval.

Its main rival, OpenAI, launched its own AI agents, called Dots, in September. These agents can run continuously.

Meta launched Muse in September and has made it available only in the United States and Canada. An analysis of data from other sources by Sensor Tower found that Muse had been downloaded more than 10 million times.

Walmart said it would launch “Agent Profiles” within the next month. Customers will be able to register each AI assistant they use as a separate profile in their Walmart account. This will keep purchases made by an AI agent separate from purchases made by the customer.

Customers can choose to approve every purchase or let an agent buy items on its own up to a spending limit they set. For example, they can set a limit of US$50, US$100 or US$200. They can also delete an agent's profile at any time.

Walmart compared this setup to adding an authorised user to a credit card.

Amazon, the largest online retailer in the US, has taken a stricter approach. It blocks outside AI shopping agents while promoting its own AI tools, including Alexa for Shopping and a feature called Buy for Me.

In September, Amazon blocked Meta's Muse from its website. Users saw a notice saying that unauthorised AI agents break Amazon's rules for using the site.

Amazon sued Perplexity in November 2025. It accused the startup of secretly using its Comet browser agent to make purchases on Amazon's marketplace. Amazon has also taken steps to limit agents from Google and OpenAI. AFP