沃尔玛周三宣布，正拥抱“代理式商业”，推出自家的“代理网关”以管理交易，并推出其他面向使用 AI 代理的客户的新功能。此举是在沃尔玛最大竞争对手亚马逊开始屏蔽 AI 代理代表网购者下单后不久作出的。
Walmart is embracing agentic commerce with the launch of its own Agent Gateway to manage transactions and other new features aimed at customers using AI agents, the retailer announced on Wednesday. The move comes shortly after Walmart’s top competitor, Amazon, began blocking AI agents from making purchases on behalf of online shoppers.
沃尔玛对 AI 技术的接纳使其区别于其他在线企业，不仅包括亚马逊，还包括各类旅游和预订网站——这些网站因消费者越来越多地采用 AI 代理，而选择将其彻底拒之门外。相比之下，沃尔玛早已宣布与该领域领先代理 Meta 的 Muse 达成合作，并提供与 ChatGPT、Gemini 等热门 AI 应用的集成。
The company’s embrace of AI technology differentiates it from other online businesses, including not only Amazon but also various travel and booking sites, which have responded to the growing consumer adoption of AI agents by locking them out of their websites completely. Walmart, on the other hand, had already announced a partnership with a leading agent in the space, Meta’s Muse, and offers integrations with popular AI apps like ChatGPT, Gemini, and others.
沃尔玛总裁兼首席执行官约翰·弗纳周三在旧金山举行的“规模大师峰会”上表示，现在公司正在这些努力基础上扩展更多技术，为 AI 代理成为主流的世界做准备。该技术将支持沃尔玛及其折扣仓储式会员店山姆会员店的代理式购物。
Now, it’s expanding on those efforts with more technology to prepare for a world where AI agents become mainstream, said Walmart President and CEO John Furner, speaking at the Masters of Scale Summit in San Francisco on Wednesday. The technology will support agentic shopping from both Walmart and the company’s discount warehouse, Sam’s Club.
首先是沃尔玛的“代理网关”，这是公司新的 MCP 服务器，旨在帮助获批代理通过模型上下文协议（MCP）连接到沃尔玛。该协议最初由 Anthropic 创建，允许 AI 代理连接外部数据源、工具和其他工作流。在此场景下，它让 AI 代理能够搜索沃尔玛的在线库存，并代表代理用户下单购买。
It starts with Walmart’s Agent Gateway, the company’s new MCP server, which is designed to help approved agents connect to Walmart over the model context protocol (MCP). The protocol, originally created by Anthropic, allows AI agents to connect to external data sources, tools, and other workflows. In this case, it lets an AI agent search across Walmart’s online inventory and make purchases on behalf of the agent’s user.
此外，零售商表示，其“代理网关”将能帮助客户选购惯常品牌或商品，而无需直接向代理共享个人信息或购买历史。
What’s more, the retailer says that its Agent Gateway will be able to help customers shop for their usual brands or items without having to share their personal information or purchase history directly with the agent.
公司还开发了新技术，以区分代理发起的购买与客户直接发起的购买，并让购物者对代理能做什么、不能做什么拥有更多控制权。
The company has also developed new technology to differentiate an agent’s purchases from those initiated directly by the customer, and to give shoppers more control over what their agents can and cannot do.
随着“智能体档案”功能将于下月推出，顾客将能够为其使用的每个 AI 智能体在账户中授权一个专属档案，从而将智能体的购买记录与自己的购买记录分开查看。此外，顾客将能控制购买审批方式，既可以要求对每笔交易进行审批，也可以授权在其设定的特定消费限额内的交易。
With Agent Profiles, rolling out next month, customers will be able to authorize each AI agent they use with a dedicated profile in their account, allowing them to see the agent’s purchases separately from their own. Plus, customers will be in control of how purchases get approved by either requiring approval for each transaction or by authorizing transactions within a certain spending limit they set.
该零售商表示，这些控制功能类似于将某人添加为信用卡授权用户，届时该用户的交易将被单独标识，且您可以为其设定消费上限。
The retailer says these controls are similar to adding someone as an authorized user on your credit card, where their transactions are identified, and you can cap their spending.
公司指出，当您首次通过 Walmart Agent Gateway（沃尔玛智能体网关）使用某个智能体购物时，系统将创建相应的智能体档案。要开始使用，您需要授权并将智能体档案关联到您的沃尔玛账户，然后设置控制选项或消费限额。您也可以随时删除智能体档案。凡拥有沃尔玛账户的用户均可使用智能体支持；无需沃尔玛会员资格。
The Agent Profiles will be created the first time you use a given agent to shop through the Walmart Agent Gateway, the company notes. To get started, you’ll authorize and link the Agent Profile to your Walmart account, then set your controls or spending limits. You can also delete an Agent Profile at any time. Agent support is available for anyone with a Walmart account; a Walmart+ membership is not necessary.
除了这些技术，沃尔玛还为 AI 智能体推出了专门的“条款”，规定其必须如何运作以及在其网站上拥有何种交易权利。值得注意的是，沃尔玛表示其退货流程适用，包括智能体未按预期行事的情况。这一对顾客友好的条件可能会吸引那些担心成为智能体商业早期测试者的消费者，因为他们无需担心因智能体行为异常而买到不想要的商品。
Alongside these technologies, Walmart is introducing special “terms” for AI agents, which specify how they must operate and what rights they have to transact on its site. Of note, Walmart says that its returns process applies, including when an agent doesn’t act as intended. That’s a customer-friendly condition that could sway consumers who were worried about being an early tester of agentic commerce, as they won’t fear ending up with products they don’t want because of a misbehaving agent.
沃尔玛还表示，智能体不得采取超出购物者意图的行动，不得访问顾客的支付信息，且只能访问完成特定任务所需的信息。不遵守条款的智能体将被禁止访问沃尔玛网站。
Walmart also says that agents can’t take actions beyond what the shopper intends, can’t access the customers’ payment information, and can only access the information they need for the given task. Agents that don’t comply with the terms will be blocked from accessing Walmart’s site.