Walmart plans spending limits for AI shopping assistants

Walmart has laid out how it wants AI shopping assistants to work with its store: you set the limits, and the assistant does not get your saved card details. The plan came on Oct. 21, 2026. Around the same time, Amazon reportedly blocked Meta's shopping agent, called Muse, and the two companies disagree about why.

What Walmart announced

Walmart said it plans to launch Agent Profiles in November 2026. A profile lets you approve each AI agent separately and see what it bought apart from your own orders. You could approve every purchase or set a spending limit. Walmart gave $50, $100 and $200 as examples, not required tiers. It added that it could still ask for approval on a purchase within your limit.

Walmart also described what an agent would not see. Through its planned Walmart Agent Gateway, an agent would not receive stored payment-card details or your wider shopping history. It could use your usual items to find products. Walmart's returns process would apply to agent purchases. The Gateway beta will start with companies and developers, not the general public.

How Amazon's approach differs

Amazon described a feature called Buy for Me in April 2025 as a limited beta for some U.S. customers. If Amazon does not sell an item, you can ask it to order from a participating brand's site. You confirm the order in Amazon's checkout. Amazon sends the brand your encrypted name, address and payment details, and the brand handles delivery and returns.

The difference is where the handoff happens. Walmart's plan lets an agent you choose shop within your permissions. With Amazon, you confirm the order in Amazon, and then the brand gets what it needs to fulfill it.

The Muse dispute

GeekWire reported that Amazon blocked Muse from loading Amazon search pages by Sept. 20, 2026. Amazon said it had not agreed to Muse's access. It also alleged that the agent did not identify itself and appeared to capture and store credentials. Meta said Muse could not see passwords or payment methods and that credentials were stored securely. Neither account has been settled in the material available.

CBC News reported a separate case. Muse user Matt Robb said the agent agreed to a buyer's price during a Facebook Marketplace sale, shared his home address without checking with him, and told the buyer to come immediately. That is one transaction. Some Reddit users described completed grocery and ticket purchases, while others hit blocks or interrupted orders. Some said they kept final approval after Muse filled a cart.

What to check before trying one

• What the assistant can spend, and whether a limit can be set.
• What it can see, such as saved cards or past orders.
• Whether you still approve the final order.
• Whether its purchases show up separately in your account.

What is not known yet

Walmart's controls describe its announced design. Agent Profiles were still planned, not live, and the Gateway beta starts with companies and developers. How well the limits work in daily use is not yet known.