An AI Did My Walmart Shopping Heres What Happened

OpenAI has just launched its new AI-powered browser, Atlas, for Mac users, and its standout feature is a powerful Agent mode. This gives ChatGPT the ability to take over your browser to click, shop, and complete tasks for you. As a Mac user, I had to see how well this worked in the real world.

I decided to test its limits with a task I do regularly: ordering groceries and supplies from Walmart for same-day delivery. Could an AI handle the nuances of online shopping?

The Challenge A Real World Walmart Run

During the official OpenAI demo, executives had the Agent read a recipe and order ingredients from Instacart. It was impressive, but I live in a rural area where Walmart is one of the few delivery options, making it a perfect test case.

After a quick download and setup, which included importing my Chrome data, the Atlas browser launched with a clean, familiar interface. I toggled on Agent mode and gave it my first simple prompt:

"Order me wood putty, paintable caulk, and 2-inch screws from Walmart."

I sat back and watched as the AI's cursor immediately took control of my browser tab.

Hitting the First Snags

Almost immediately, Agent ran into trouble. A language-selection pop-up on Walmart's site seemed to freeze its navigation. Furthermore, despite importing my data, I wasn't logged into Walmart. Without being logged in, the AI didn't know my location or preferred store, so it couldn't check if products were in stock for delivery.

I had to stop the session, log into Walmart manually, and rethink my approach.

Refining the Prompt for Success

For my second attempt, I gave the AI a much more detailed prompt, including quantities and my specific store location.

"Order me 5 wood putty, 5 paintable caulk, and one pack of 2-inch screws. I want them delivered to my house from the Malone, NY, location in an hour."

This time, Agent successfully searched for the items and began adding them to the cart. However, I noticed it wasn't choosing the specific brands I normally buy from my purchase history. It was time for one final refinement.

"Order me 5 wood putty, 5 paintable caulk, and one pack of 2-inch screws. I want them delivered to my house from the Malone, NY, location in an hour. I've ordered these before, so use my past purchases to find the right products and brands I use."

This was the key. Agent navigated directly to my purchase history on Walmart's site, found the exact products from my past orders, and correctly loaded up my cart. All I had to do was select a delivery window and confirm payment.

The Verdict Half Magic Half Refining

The entire experience was a mix of futuristic magic and practical problem-solving. It took about 10 minutes from start to finish. While I could have placed this small order faster myself, the fact that the AI could navigate a live website and adapt to my instructions was genuinely impressive for a version 1.0 product.

The main takeaways are that Agent struggles with unexpected pop-ups and requires you to be logged into sites. It also needs very specific instructions, especially when it comes to personal preferences like brands, unless you explicitly tell it where to look.

I'm already thinking about future uses, like delegating my holiday shopping. I plan to ask it to find the most popular toys for a specific age group on Amazon, filter by bestsellers within a budget, and fill my cart. If it works, it could save me hours. It's still early, but if OpenAI continues to improve Atlas, it could become one of the most useful AI tools for everyday life.