Amazon has blocked Meta's AI agent on its marketplace. What's the issue?

The online marketplace Amazon has blocked access to its website for Meta’s new AI agent, Muse, after Meta refused to remove the bot from the platform voluntarily. Amazon opposes automated purchases because, in its view, the quality of the bots’ performance leaves much to be desired.

The blocking of Muse began on the evening of September 20, an Amazon spokesperson told Bloomberg. The company prohibits third-party developers from using automated tools to make purchases on its website. Now, when Muse users try to access Amazon, they see a series of pop-up windows stating that the bot is violating the platform’s terms of use.

“We believe it is quite clear that third-party apps that offer to make purchases on behalf of customers on other platforms must operate transparently and respect the service provider’s decision on whether or not to participate,” said Amazon spokesperson Lara Hendrickson. She added that requiring permission to access a platform is standard practice for food delivery services and online travel agencies. According to her, third-party agency apps like Muse have the same obligations, and Amazon has already asked Meta to remove its store from the list of platforms available to the bot.

Meta did not respond to Bloomberg's request for comment.

Meta shares rose 12% during Monday's trading session, reaching their highest level since late October 2025. Amazon shares gained about 2%.

Amazon is developing its own tools for automated purchasing, but at the same time is trying to prevent competitors’ bots from browsing its catalog and making purchases on the site, Bloomberg explains. Amazon makes money by showing ads to users, and when bots do the shopping, the company’s advertising business loses out on ad impressions.

Last year, Amazon filed a lawsuit against the startup Perplexity AI, alleging that its AI had attempted to conceal the activities of its shopping bots after the retailer demanded that they be removed. A ruling in this case could set a precedent that defines the rules of the game for agency trading as a whole, Bloomberg notes.

The agency argues that, for now, consumers mainly use AI bots to research products rather than to actually make purchases, so blocking these agents is unlikely to result in significant losses for Amazon’s business. However, if users begin to trust AI agents with their purchases on a large scale, the bots could choose other platforms—and then Amazon risks losing both sales and advertising revenue, the agency emphasizes.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy noted in April that agency shopping still leaves much to be desired: bots often make mistakes regarding prices and other product information. “We are in talks with all of these stakeholders to improve the situation and find a solution that works for customers and for all companies,” MarketWatch quoted him as saying.

Meta introduced the Muse agent in early September as a personal assistant capable of scheduling appointments for users, filling out forms, and performing other everyday tasks. At the time, Alexander Wang, head of Meta’s AI division, said the company aimed to make the tool as simple and secure as possible for the average user. Investors reacted positively to the agent’s unveiling: the next day, the company’s stock rose 6%. Overall, Meta’s stock has risen 11% since then.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor