For years, Amazon has been working to become the go-to place for online shopping. But what happens when shoppers don’t have to go to Amazon at all? That’s the question as AI shopping agents start to change the way people discover, compare, and buy products. And while Amazon builds walls, some of its competitors are going for a different strategy.
In a report from The Wall Street Journal, Amazon swiftly shut down Meta’s new Muse AI shopping agent from being able to purchase items on its platform, citing safety concerns. Meanwhile, Walmart and Shopify have struck deals with Meta, buying into Muse. The contrast could hint at a seismic shift in online retail, where the next fight might not be over who has the best shopping website, but which platform AI agents decide to patronize.
Amazon views AI shopping agents as a potential threat
Meta launched Muse in September, a personal AI agent that can assist users with shopping, booking travel, and managing budgets. The company says more than 10 million people in the US and Canada set up Muse agents in its first month and a half.
The appeal is simple. Shoppers can use an AI agent to compare products, evaluate prices, and make purchasing decisions instead of scrolling endlessly through listings and sponsored recommendations. That could be a problem for Amazon’s advertising business, which generated almost $70 billion in revenue last year.
As purchasing decisions are increasingly delegated to AI agents, sponsored product placements may lose some of their power. An agent looking for the best deal doesn’t need to know which brand has paid to sit at the top of a search page.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has played down the immediate threat, arguing that shopping via external AI agents isn’t that convenient yet. He also pointed to Amazon’s own Alexa for Shopping, which he said had been used by more than 400 million people in the last 12 months.
Walmart and Shopify are wagering on another future
Amazon is defending its ecosystem, while Walmart and Shopify are exploring how to collaborate with Muse. That could give AI agents a more direct path to product discovery and purchases, potentially changing where customers begin their shopping journeys.
For consumers, it could mean less time spent browsing, price comparing, and hunting for deals. Much of that work could be eventually done for them by an AI assistant. But it also raises questions about product recommendations, transparency, and who is in charge of the shopping experience.
Amazon has not entirely ruled out cooperating. The company hopes to work with outside AI agents, Jassy said, suggesting that its resistance may not be permanent. The bigger question is whether Amazon can get behind this new way of shopping and still hold onto the customer relationship and its profitable advertising business.
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