- Consumers are increasingly turning to hyper-personalized AI agents when shopping online
- While some retailers, like Walmart, are on board with agents, others like Amazon have blocked them
- Security concerns around AI are still on people’s minds, and if other retailers resist, commerce agents may not get as big of a takeoff
Personal agents are emerging as the next big wave of AI. Products from Meta and OpenAI indicate a new age for consumers, where agents are able to act on their behalf and make purchase decisions.
The agents, however, face a varied response. Some retailers, such as Walmart, are openly encouraging agentic attendance to their site. On the other hand, Amazon is among those keeping its doors shut.
Several studies indicate hyper-personalized, agentic AI assistants are the future of commerce. Yet, resistance remains high, from both websites and consumers themselves.
Consumer AI Enters a New Chapter
Most recently, Meta’s new Muse agent changed how consumers can use AI to make purchase decisions. Muse goes beyond answering questions – it can operate largely on a user’s behalf.
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As a result, users are handing over information such as credit card numbers and home addresses, so agents can book flights, make dinner reservations, and more.
Agent usage, according to data from HUMAN, is high. Meta’s Muse, released only last month, accounts for an average of 72% of daily AI-agent requests. Among these requests, 84% target product and search pages.
Businesses Have Mixed Reactions to AI Agents
While some retailers have welcomed agents to their site, others have put their walls up. Most notably, Amazon made headlines for blocking Meta’s Muse, preventing it from browsing and making purchases on users’ behalf.
Users found that an error message would appear each time they tried to make a purchase using an agent: “Continued access by an unauthorized AI agent violates Amazon’s Conditions of Use, to which our customers have agreed.”
Of course, Amazon has its own set of agentic AI tools, so blocking Muse could be for this reason. However, it’s not the only website where users have faced issues: Delta Airlines, Yelp, eBay, Pizza Hut, and Adidas have faced similar complaints.
On the other hand, retailer and Amazon competitor Walmart has taken a different stance. It has even launched its own Agentic Gateway, allowing it to manage transactions and other features when an agent enters its site.
Walmart is also set to introduce Agent Profiles, which will allow customers to authorize each AI agent they use with a dedicated account profile.
Earlier this month, Meta announced it was working on an open standard with Walmart, an existing partner, as well as other businesses including Stripe. The standard will dictate how AI agents can communicate with businesses, and how good bots (like Meta’s AI agents) can be separated from bad bots.
In a blog post, Meta also said the protocol will be focused on agent-to-agent communication for the purposes of online commerce.
Are Agents the Future of Commerce?
In a post on Substack titled “Why We’re Building Muse,” Meta’s Chief of AI Officer, Alexandr Wang, wrote of grand possibilities: “Now imagine every person on earth with a second mind beyond their own. A general manager whose whole job it is to find out what you want and make sure it happens.”
The future that AI leaders predict for us, in some way, is already taking shape. In this future, humans will no longer be burdened with chores like rescheduling appointments or comparing mattress prices.
With sales of Muse booming, it’s natural to assume more hyper-personalized AI assistants will follow, particularly from competitors.
And, there may very well be an audience for them. According to Adobe’s 2026 holiday shopping report, AI-driven traffic to retail sites is expected to increase 130% year over year during the holiday season.
Likewise, another study from Adobe found almost half (49%) of organizations expect customers to eventually prefer AI agents as their primary way of interacting with brands. Although, only 19% of customers agreed with this.
Security warnings about AI continue to mount, which may mean consumers are less likely to use AI with their personal information, including card details. Plus, if major retailers like Amazon and eBay continue their resistance, this could slow things down.
For the moment, we’re yet to see agentic AI completely overhaul commerce, but for now, it’s definitely in the picture.
