Websites block consumer AI agents as use triples
Amazon has blocked Meta's Muse agent and is appealing a court ruling in its case against Perplexity's agent, according to TechCrunch.
Websites are increasingly blocking the personal AI agents consumers send to shop and plan travel, as agent access to the web tripled between August and September. The measure comes as consumer agents such as OpenAI's Dots and Meta's Muse spread among users.
Amazon has blocked Muse's agent and is in court seeking to block Perplexity's agent; the court recently ruled in Perplexity's favour and Amazon has appealed. TechCrunch reported failed attempts to use agents on sites including Pizza Hut and Yelp, which does not allow AI restaurant bookings.
Amazon has argued that AI agents make it hard to distinguish ads seen by humans from ads served to bots, threatening its advertising business. Meta's Muse app was downloaded 5 million times in its first month after release.
Shopify has begun accepting agents by offering a payment mechanism that bypasses human-designed web pages. Ethan Mollick, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, predicted the effects will spread across the web.
Rules governing how agents interact with websites and what they are allowed to do are currently being written.
Quick answers
Why are websites blocking AI agents?
Sites such as Yelp and Pizza Hut have blocked or failed agent bookings, and Amazon argues agents make it hard to distinguish ads seen by humans from ads served to bots.
How many times was Meta's Muse app downloaded?
Meta's Muse app was downloaded 5 million times in its first month after release.