Amazon has blocked Meta’s AI shopping agent Muse from browsing and buying items from its retail platform.
Shoppers who attempted to use Muse on Amazon on 20 September received the message: “Continued access by an unauthorized AI agent violates Amazon’s Conditions of Use, to which our customers have agreed.”
Amazon says that it did not agree that Muse could shop its store, the agent doesn’t identify itself when it browses, and it appears to capture and store shopper credentials, according to reporting by GeekWire.
“We think it’s fairly straightforward that third-party applications that offer to make purchases on behalf of customers from other businesses should operate openly and respect service provider decisions about whether or not to participate,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement.
Muse launched two weeks ago, and swiftly became the No.1 download in both Apple and Google’s app stores. Shares in Meta rose 11% accordingly.
What this means for agentic shopping
The standoff between the two tech giants points to a bigger issue: tension over who controls the agentic shopping experience and the valuable first-party customer data it generates.
Amazon’s decision to block Muse comes despite the fact that the companies have partnered before. In April, Meta signed a deal with AWS to use its chips for its agentic AI. The block suggests that – in the short-term, at least – Amazon is more concerned about owning the journey than lost revenue.
It also indicates that the battle over agentic AI is just getting started. As agentic shopping becomes more embedded, the challenge for retailers will be around who owns the customer journey. For retailers without Amazon’s financial clout, the decision between revenue and owning the customer journey could be a much harder one.
The next battleground in retail may not be price, range or fulfilment. It may be who gets to stand between the shopper and the checkout.
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