AI shopping agents: Walmart says yes, Amazon says no
AI agents that buy things for you are here, and stores do not agree on them. Amazon is blocking AI agents from shopping on its site. Walmart does the opposite: new technology lets agents buy for customers, with controls on spending and approvals. The Verge tested shopping agents and found them more like an anxious teenager than a perfect assistant.
The money is moving anyway. Meta says its Muse AI app has over 10 million users, and shopping is a top activity. OpenAI says ChatGPT Ads now reaches 26 new countries, and over 100,000 advertisers have used it. 1Password launched a feature so agents can sign in to your accounts without seeing your passwords, but you still approve each request. Spotify even wants to be the music service that agents choose.
If agents shop for us, the fight is about who controls the store window: the shop, the AI company, or you. Ads inside chatbots make the question sharper. Is the agent working for you, or for the advertiser?
