Amazon blocks Meta's Muse agent, cites Conditions of Use

Meta introduced its personal AI agent Muse earlier this month, billing it as a digital assistant that 'doesn't just answer questions, it actually does the work.' Muse can handle tasks like shopping and paying for purchases using Link by Stripe. Meta also said it planned to add Shop Pay as an alternate payment method and 1Password support, which would let the AI use login credentials across websites. However, Amazon has now drawn a line. According to GeekWire, users trying to use Muse to shop on Amazon have recently begun seeing a popup stopping them. Amazon's Conditions of Use has a section specifically for autonomous agents, requiring them to identify themselves, not imitate humans, and not circumvent Amazon's limits. An Amazon spokesperson said third-party apps that make purchases on behalf of customers should 'operate openly and respect service provider decisions about whether or not to participate,' and that Amazon has requested Meta remove Amazon from the experience. Amazon further says Muse fails to identify itself, captures and stores Amazon users' credentials, and scrapes account data, which it calls a potential security concern. Meta did not inform Amazon that Muse would access its storefront, according to Amazon. Meanwhile, Amazon is beta testing its own AI shopping agent, Buy for Me, which can purchase products on users' behalf on its platform and from third-party vendors. The outcome hinges on whether Meta modifies Muse to comply with Amazon's transparency requirements or removes Amazon from the experience. For platform trust and safety teams and AI agent developers, this signals that marketplace gatekeeping over autonomous agents may tighten, though the extent remains to be seen.