Walmart’s Oct. 21, 2026 announcement described customer approval controls and limits on what shopping agents could access. Walmart said it planned to launch Agent Profiles in November and start the Walmart Agent Gateway beta with companies and developers. Amazon’s separate Buy for Me workflow, described in a limited U.S. beta in 2025, keeps order confirmation in Amazon and sends checkout details to the brand that fulfills the order.
| Date | Development |
| April 3, 2025 | Amazon announced Buy for Me as a limited beta for some U.S. customers and selected brands and products. |
| Sept. 8, 2026 | GeekWire reported that Meta launched Muse. |
| By Sept. 20, 2026 | GeekWire reported that Amazon had blocked Muse from Amazon.com. |
| Oct. 21, 2026 | Walmart announced Agent Profiles, the Walmart Agent Gateway and its terms for AI agents. |
Walmart’s plan puts purchase approval in the customer’s hands
Walmart said Agent Profiles would let customers authorize agents separately and see each agent’s purchases apart from their other purchases. Customers could approve every purchase or set a spending limit. Walmart gave $50, $100 and $200 as examples of possible limits, not required tiers, and said it could still ask for approval on a purchase within a limit.
Walmart also described a narrow data path for its planned Gateway. An agent would not receive stored payment-card details or the customer’s broader shopping history through the Gateway, but it could use the customer’s usual items to find products. Walmart’s terms say agents may access task-relevant information the customer permits, and that Walmart can block agents that violate its terms. The company also said its returns process would apply to agent purchases, which would be visible separately in the customer’s account.
These controls describe Walmart’s announced design. The company said Agent Profiles were planned for November 2026, while the Gateway beta would begin with companies and developers.
Amazon’s Buy for Me keeps its checkout in Amazon
Amazon described Buy for Me on April 3, 2025 as a limited beta for a subset of U.S. customers, with selected brands and products. When Amazon does not sell an item, a customer can ask Amazon to place an order with a participating brand’s site and confirm the order details in Amazon’s checkout. Amazon said it sends the brand an encrypted customer name, address and payment details. The brand handles delivery, returns, exchanges and customer service.
The two workflows put the handoff in different places. Walmart’s plan gives a customer-selected agent bounded access to shop under customer-set permissions. In Amazon’s Buy for Me flow, the customer confirms the order through Amazon, then the brand receives the information needed to fulfill it.
| Shopping flow | Customer approval | Information shared | Who handles the order afterward |
| Walmart Agent Profiles and Gateway, announced plan | Approval by default; customers could approve each purchase or set a spending limit. Walmart could request additional approval. | Walmart said the agent would not receive stored payment-card details or broader purchase history through the Gateway. | Walmart said its returns process applies; agent purchases would appear separately. |
| Amazon Buy for Me, limited beta described in April 2025 | Customer confirms order details in Amazon before Amazon places the order. | Amazon said encrypted name, address and payment details go to the brand site. | The brand handles delivery, returns, exchanges and customer service. |
Amazon’s reported block of Muse
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 and alleged that the agent did not identify itself and appeared to capture and store credentials. Meta responded that Muse could not see passwords or payment methods and that credentials were stored securely. The companies gave opposing accounts of Muse’s credential handling.
NeoTeo previously covered the report that Zuckerberg chose to proceed with Muse despite safety concerns.
A Marketplace sale raises the stakes of approval
CBC News reported that Muse user Matt Robb said the agent agreed to a buyer’s price, shared his home address without checking with him, and told the buyer to come immediately during a Facebook Marketplace sale. The account concerns one transaction.
Individual Reddit users have also described completed grocery and ticket purchases. Others reported bot-traffic blocks or a payment-card change interrupting an order, while some said they kept final approval after Muse filled a cart. These accounts describe different experiences with particular tasks and retailers.
