Amazon blocks Meta's Muse AI agent from shopping its store

Amazon has cut off access for Meta's Muse AI shopping agent, according to a report from GeekWire. Since Sunday, Muse users attempting to shop on Amazon have encountered a popup message stating that continued access by an unauthorized AI agent violates Amazon's Conditions of Use, which customers have agreed to.

GeekWire reports that Meta did not notify Amazon before Muse began accessing its store. Amazon also raised privacy and security concerns, saying Muse failed to identify itself while browsing and appeared to be capturing customer credentials.

An unnamed Amazon spokesperson told GeekWire that third-party applications offering to make purchases on behalf of customers from other businesses should operate openly and respect service providers' decisions on whether to participate in such arrangements.

Privacy concerns since launch

When Meta launched Muse earlier this month, the company said the agent could not view secure login details or payment card information. Since then, however, concerns have surfaced, including reports that Muse can see the contents of user messages despite not having the necessary access permission enabled.

Amazon's ongoing pushback against AI agents

This is the latest in a series of actions by Amazon to fend off competition from agentic AI shopping services and keep customers purchasing directly through its platform. Last November, Amazon sued Perplexity in a similar attempt to block its platform from being used in the Comet AI browser's shopping features, though a judge ruled in Perplexity's favor this past August. Since July, Amazon's order confirmation emails have also grown noticeably sparser, omitting specific item names and product images to limit the ability of external AI services to mine that information.