Websites are blocking personal AI agents that try to shop and book

In short: Personal AI agents meant to shop and book things for you are being blocked by many websites, and several companies are working on a common set of rules to help.

What's going on

Personal AI agents, like Meta’s Muse and other new tools, are designed to do tasks for you online, such as buying items, booking flights, or making dinner reservations. Instead of you clicking through pages, the agent tries to do it for you.

Many websites are stopping these agents. TechCrunch reports that Amazon recently blocked Meta’s Muse from browsing and buying from its retail site. People have also posted online that their agents get stuck on Walmart and other sites, often at “prove you are human” checks (like the little checkbox or puzzle that is meant to stop spam). It is like a store that lets people in, but stops anyone who walks in with an assistant.

Walmart told TechCrunch that blocks reported by users were not intentional. The company said it is partnered with Muse, but the agent can fail if a human verification step gets interrupted.

The problem goes beyond shopping. Some users say airline sites reject agent requests. Delta said it does not currently support third-party agents booking on customers’ behalf, and it is focused on security and customer experience. Yelp said it does not allow non-human traffic unless there is a paid data licensing deal.

What to watch

Meta and a group of partners including Walmart, Stripe, and others say they are working on an open standard, which is a shared set of rules, to help businesses tell “good” automated helpers from harmful bots. If it catches on, people may see fewer failed checkouts and fewer confusing lockouts when using agents.

Source: TechCrunch AI