People who asked Muse, Meta’s personal AI agent, to shop on Amazon started seeing a warning. The pop-up, live by September 20, says continued access by an unauthorized AI agent violates the store’s Conditions of Use. Amazon says the block came after it failed to get Meta to keep the agent away voluntarily.
Days earlier, Muse had passed ChatGPT as the top free app on Apple’s US App Store, within two weeks of launch. Sensor Tower, which tracks apps, counted over 2.5 million downloads as of September 21.
The agent is software built to carry out tasks for the person using it. It opens a browser, fills out forms, books travel, sends email and helps people buy things. It checks with them before sensitive actions, such as sending an email or making a purchase. People choose which accounts to link, such as email, calendar, payments and shopping, and according to the launch post, they also choose how much access each app gets.
Linking accounts is where the trust question starts. Joanna Stern, NBC News’ chief tech analyst, used the agent for weeks to book appointments, track flights and cancel subscriptions. She kept her personal and work email unlinked, because those accounts hold confidential information. She asked Mark Zuckerberg what happens if an agent with access to her main inbox starts sending phishing scams in her name. His answer was about trust, and he said adoption depends on it.
Amazon’s own reasons center on accounts and data. The retailer says it was never told the agent would shop there. It also says the agent appears to capture and store customer login details, a possible privacy and security risk. The agent does not identify itself as software while browsing, the retailer adds. Meta says Muse cannot see passwords or payment methods and uses stored logins without seeing them.
Advertising puts money on the line. Amazon generated over $68 billion in ad revenue in 2025, a business GeekWire describes as dependent on people browsing pages and seeing sponsored products. A shopper who hands the search to an agent does less browsing, so if many shoppers buy this way, fewer people see sponsored products.
The block covers one store, and days after it, Meta named more retail partners, including Walmart and Best Buy.
