Amazon has cut off Meta's Muse shopping agent, so an AI helper that works at some stores may not work at Amazon. Here is what shoppers should know.
Amazon has stopped Meta's new AI shopping agent, Muse, from buying on its site. People who tried to order through Muse began seeing an error saying that access by an unauthorized AI agent breaks Amazon's Conditions of Use. Amazon cited safety concerns. On an earnings call Thursday, CEO Andy Jassy said few customers are shopping through outside agents.
Meta rolled out Muse in early September. About a month later, Amazon cut it off. Jassy did not name Muse, but the timing made the target clear. He said the experience with outside agents is still not great and is no more convenient than ordering directly from a retailer.
Amazon booked nearly $70 billion in ad revenue last year. Much of it comes from sellers paying to put sponsored products in front of shoppers. An agent that compares prices and details does not respond to those ads the way a person scrolling a results page might. Amazon argued in its case against Perplexity that advertisers pay only for human views. A federal judge sided with Amazon in March.
Jassy said the ads business has not been meaningfully affected by outside agents. He pointed to Amazon's own assistant, Alexa for Shopping. He said over 400 million people used it in the past 12 months, and that US customers who use it spend 50% more per order.
The block may not last. Jassy said Amazon expects to work with horizontal agents, meaning general-purpose assistants that shop across many stores. Its Shop Direct feature already lists over 250 million products from other stores. Zuckerberg said Meta will work with companies on terms that suit them. Investor Paul Graham called the ban a chance for a startup to build an Amazon rival.
If you use an AI helper to shop, check that it works at the store you want before you rely on it. Expect Amazon to steer shoppers toward its own assistant.
An AI shopping helper may not work at every store, so test it at the retailer you use most, especially Amazon, before you count on it.
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