Amazon and Walmart face a growing challenge as AI shopping agents begin guiding purchases beyond retailer websites. These tools could weaken advertising businesses built on sponsored product placements and customer data. Together, the companies command an estimated 88% of the USD 74.4 billion US retail media market, according to eMarketer projections.
Agents can search for goods and complete purchases on a shopper's behalf, changing where customers discover products. Morgan Stanley researchers estimated in July that such tools could handle 10% to 20% of US e-commerce spending by 2030. Can retailers welcome AI shoppers without surrendering the advertising income that online traffic generates?
Amazon has chosen to limit access by outside agents, while developing AI shopping features within its own business. In September, it blocked Meta's Muse after alleging the tool accessed its store without permission and collected and stored customer login details. Meta declined to comment.
Amazon told Reuters that outside shopping agents should identify themselves and honor a service provider's choice about participation. Its dispute with Perplexity has reached the courts as well. Amazon secured an order blocking Perplexity's Comet shopping agent in March.
The Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that ban in August, although litigation continues. Amazon said it disagreed with the ruling. The legal fight adds another dimension to retailers' efforts to decide how outside systems enter their stores.
Meanwhile, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said last week that third-party agents had not meaningfully affected advertising revenue. Still, its third-quarter advertising sales grew 11% from a year earlier, the slowest annual pace in almost four years, according to LSEG data. Advertising regularly contributes about 10% of Amazon's total net sales.
Walmart is taking another route. On October 21, it introduced infrastructure that lets outside AI agents shop through its systems. It is working with Meta's Muse rather than blocking the service.
Under that setup, Walmart creates an agent profile and links it to the customer's existing account. Shoppers can authorize purchases or place limits on spending. The arrangement gives Walmart a way to connect agent activity with its own customer records.
Advertising remains important to Walmart's broader business growth. In August, Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said advertising, membership and marketplace operations together generated 45% of quarterly operating income growth. The company does not disclose separate Walmart Connect results in its earnings release.
Walmart declined to comment on the wider challenge. Both retailers have begun placing advertising inside their own AI shopping experiences. Walmart is testing ads in Sparky, its shopping chatbot, while Amazon has integrated them into Alexa for Shopping.
Read More: Amazon Great Indian Festival 2026: Best Android Phones Under Rs. 20,000
Retail media spending continues to grow despite the uncertainty. Emarketer expects US spending to rise 22.6% in 2026 from USD 60.7 billion last year. Yet industry executives expect AI agents to change which ads shoppers encounter.
Dan Marc, chief executive of Footprints AI, expects major retailers to pursue multiyear commitments from large advertisers. He anticipates discounts on digital ad placements as more shoppers use language models and automated buying tools.
For brands, product details may become more valuable than striking images when AI assistants select recommendations. Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, and L'Oreal have said they are adapting product information for machine-led searches. Mondelez executive Andrew Lederman said in April that retail media sites still drive most of its sales volume.
Analyst Brett Husslein described the shift as an evolution of retail advertising rather than its disappearance. Flywheel executive Amie Owen advised clients against sudden budget changes, while preparing for new shopping habits. Kearney consultant Katherine Black envisages bidding systems where agents match products to customer price points and retailer pricing limits.
AI shopping agents could shift how customers find and buy products, placing pressure on retailers' advertising models. Amazon is restricting outside tools, while Walmart is linking them to customer accounts. Both companies are testing ads within their own assistants as brands adapt product information for agent-led searches and spending patterns.