Banks and Retailers Move to Block AI Shopping Agents Like Meta Muse

JPMorgan Chase, Charles Schwab, Amazon, Neiman Marcus and Kohl's have moved to block personal AI agents such as Meta Muse, as consumers begin using them to hunt for better savings rates, shop for deals and cancel subscriptions.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said the bank blocks external AI agents from acting for retail customers, citing security risks. Amazon said third-party agents like Muse should respect service providers' decisions on participation, and that it has asked Meta to remove Amazon from the experience. Walmart, by contrast, said it is opening its virtual doors to AI agents, noting the prices an agent sees match those a human sees.

An audit of 51 large U.S. retailers' published access rules by Billions Network and AmanTrue found only 11 have taken a deliberate position on AI agents. Five explicitly restrict them, while 37 block shopping agents largely by accident through older bot rules. None offers a way for a verified agent to complete a purchase.

Accenture's Michael Abbott said blocking agents will be hard to sustain, arguing that authorizing an agent is an extension of customer choice. He said Accenture research found 82% of consumers want to approve every AI action and 79% want the ability to pause or stop AI activity. Visa's Michael Jabbara said agent fraud risks are real, pointing to fake agents and agents acting beyond a customer's intent.

Concerns also include "agentic flooding" - millions of agents overwhelming sites. Princeton's Ed Felten doubts blocking will last, saying agents will win out because they are so useful to users.