I know my friends over at Walmart don't always love comparisons to Amazon, espec
By Jasondelrey · October 23, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
I know my friends over at Walmart don't always love comparisons to Amazon, especially from the guy who wrote a whole book about their rivalry.
But today's news makes it pretty hard to avoid.
Last month, Amazon blocked Meta's Muse personal AI agent from shopping on its site. Days later, Walmart announced it was partnering with Muse.
And today, Walmart essentially hung out a much bigger welcome sign for AI shopping agents.
The retailer announced a new gateway that will let approved third-party agents shop Walmart on behalf of customers, along with spending limits, purchase approvals and other controls.
“Customers decide how they want to shop,” Walmart CEO John Furner told The Aisle. “If they choose to use an agent, we want Walmart to be there and we want them to stay in charge.”
Part of the bet is that opening up to outside agents could bring Walmart new shopping trips that otherwise might never have started on its website or app. But the move could also mean willingly surrendering some control over the shopping experience to another company.
And that raises some interesting questions:
Will third-party agents generate meaningful incremental sales?
If so, will Walmart be comfortable becoming the commerce plumbing behind someone else's AI interface?
And what happens to the company's growing advertising business if shopping increasingly starts elsewhere?
A lot of "ifs"
I dug into Walmart's announcement, what the company told me about how its new system will work, and the bigger unanswered questions in today's edition of The Aisle: https://lnkd.in/g-q3M7bS
And while I'm still skeptical that the masses are eager to hand off everyday purchases to AI agents, Walmart's move certainly could make those agents operating more smoothly and safely for customers.