Amazon shows Meta's Muse AI shopping agent the door

Amazon has blocked Meta's new Muse AI agent from shopping on its website, apparently deciding that having someone else's bot wandering through customer accounts and placing orders is a step too far.

The ecommerce giant cut off Muse after unsuccessfully asking Meta to prevent the personal AI agent from accessing its store, GeekWire reported.

Users who try anyway are told that access by an "unauthorized AI agent" violates Amazon's Conditions of Use.

The Register asked Muse to find the "best-reviewed ergonomic office chair," add it to our cart, and proceed to the final checkout screen.

Muse reported: "Hit a snag: Amazon is showing an anti-bot wall that blocks automated browsers outright – the browser couldn't even get to the search page, so no chair was found or added.

I didn't push past it, since the notice says continuing would violate Amazon's terms." Meta launched Muse in the US earlier this month as an agent capable of doing more than answering questions.

It can act on a user's behalf by shopping, making payments, reading emails, and managing calendars.

When a service does not provide a public API, Meta says Muse can operate it through a browser much as a human would.

Amazon is not keen on that arrangement.

The retailer told GeekWire that Meta had neither informed it that Muse would access the store nor obtained authorization.

It also claimed that the agent fails to identify itself while browsing and appears to capture and store customer credentials.

Amazon said Muse could also access account information, including a customer's order history, when instructed to do so.

Meta says the Muse model cannot see users' passwords or payment methods.

Credentials are instead held in secure storage and made available for authentication without being exposed to the model.