Walmart Opens Website to Third-Party AI Shopping Agents Starting Next Month

Walmart will allow shoppers to connect third-party AI agents to its website to make purchases on their behalf starting next month. Customers can set spending limits and review or approve orders, while Walmart's published rules prohibit bots from changing payment methods or taking actions beyond the shopper's intent. The policy contrasts directly with Amazon, which has blocked Perplexity's shopping agent and Meta's Muse AI assistant from its storefront. Outside AI agents can bypass sponsored listings and suggested add-ons, disrupting the search-and-advertising loop on shopping pages. Walmart's own Sparky assistant, launched in June 2025, has driven 40% higher average order values and 57% higher conversion rates on visual searches. Sparky is already embedded inside ChatGPT, with a Google Gemini integration in development alongside partnerships with OpenAI, Google, and Meta. Walmart's e-commerce sales increased 24% year over year in Q2 2026, marking its 10th consecutive quarter of growth above 20%. A Bank of America note on October 20, 2026 cited the retailer's AI partnerships and Sparky integrations as a strategic advantage in agentic commerce.