Personal AI agents such as Meta's Muse, Instinct, and ChatGPT's Dots are being pitched as digital helpers that can book flights, order groceries, and make reservations. But according to TechCrunch, these agents are frequently hitting a wall: the websites they are trying to use often block them from completing the task. Amazon recently blocked Muse from browsing or purchasing on its retail site, and user complaints on social media describe similar failures at Walmart, airlines, and other retailers.
The reasons for the blocks vary. Some are deliberate, like Amazon's, while others stem from traditional anti-bot systems designed to stop spam and malicious traffic. Walmart, which is officially partnered with Muse, said its blocks were not intentional; the problem appears to occur when a human-verification button is interrupted during an agent's interaction, causing the check to fail. For consumers, it is often unclear whether a block is accidental or deliberate, leaving them frustrated with both the retailer and the agent.
To address the issue, Meta, Walmart, Stripe, Sierra, Genesys, Rocket, NiCE, and Decagon are developing an open standard for agent-to-agent communication focused on online commerce. Meanwhile, some companies remain cautious: Delta said it is evaluating external AI agents but has no current integration, United's terms of use prohibit unauthorized automated access, and Yelp only permits non-human traffic through its paid data licensing program.