Table of Contents
eBay appears to have implemented measures to block AI agents, including Meta’s Muse, from browsing its marketplace. This development highlights ongoing challenges for the emerging field of AI-driven shopping, where automated tools are increasingly being restricted by major retailers.
Restrictions on AI Browsing
A reader reported to The Verge that their Muse agent, which had been successfully curating daily watch listings from eBay, suddenly stopped functioning over the weekend. The agent was unable to retrieve links, pricing, or product details, reporting that it had been blocked from the site. The Verge confirmed this experience through independent testing, noting that in some instances, the agent redirected users to third-party websites that mirror eBay listings instead of accessing the platform directly.
While eBay previously updated its user agreement to prohibit “buy-for-me agents” and LLM-driven bots that execute purchases without human oversight, agents that simply browsed for information had remained functional until recently.
eBay’s Stance on AI Access
eBay spokesperson Sybille St. Arromand stated in an email to The Verge that the company is integrating AI into its own platform to enhance discovery, personalization, and the selling process. While she did not explicitly confirm if new limitations were recently imposed, she noted that the company maintains a selective approach regarding how third parties interact with its marketplace.
“We have restricted agent access in certain cases, including unauthorized scraping and training on our data,” St. Arromand explained. She added that eBay is currently evaluating how third-party agents might eventually assist customers in discovering the platform’s inventory, emphasizing that the company’s priority remains maintaining a “trusted end-to-end experience” for its users. Meta declined to comment on the situation.
The Evolving Landscape of Agentic Commerce
Retailers are currently navigating different strategies regarding AI agents. Amazon has opted to block external agents entirely, while companies like Target maintain inconsistent access, allowing agents to browse in some scenarios while blocking them in others. Conversely, Shopify has made its catalog accessible to allow shoppers to utilize agents for purchases.
The rise of these agents poses challenges for e-commerce sites designed for human interaction. In October, The Verge reported that AI agents could be used to manipulate inventory on sites like The RealReal by holding items in carts, a vulnerability that led the company to update its bot detection systems. Despite the technical focus on these tools, data suggests that consumer adoption remains limited. Uber reported only four rides and approximately 500 Uber Eats orders fulfilled via third-party agents in recent periods, while DoorDash noted only “several hundred” such orders out of nearly a billion total transactions.
