Amazon says AI shopping agents should respect service providers' access decisions

Amazon told Reuters this week that third-party AI shopping agents should operate openly and respect service providers' decisions about whether to participate. The statement sets a condition for third-party agents as the tools begin to reshape how consumers find and buy products.

Why the statement matters

Amazon and Walmart are the two largest retail media businesses globally. Together they control an estimated 88% share of the $74.4 billion US retail media market, according to Emarketer projections. Retail media is advertising that brands pay retailers to place products on their websites and apps. It is highly profitable because it sits on customer data and the point of purchase.

AI agents can research products and complete purchases on consumers' behalf. Morgan Stanley researchers said in July that such agents could account for 10% to 20% of US e-commerce spending by 2030. That could weaken retailers' control over product advertising and customer information.

Two different approaches

Amazon has taken a harder line. It blocked Meta's Muse from its website in September, saying the tool appeared to access its online store without authorization and capture and store customer credentials. Meta declined to comment. Amazon also won a court order in March blocking Perplexity's Comet shopping agent. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that ban in August. Amazon said it disagreed with the ruling, and the case is ongoing.

Walmart chose a more accommodating route. On October 21 it launched infrastructure for third-party agentic commerce. When a shopper uses an agent to browse, Walmart creates a profile for that agent linked to the shopper's Walmart account. Consumers can approve purchases or set spending limits. Walmart declined to comment.

The advertising stakes

Amazon's early numbers do not show damage. Chief executive Andy Jassy said last week that third-party agents have had no meaningful effect on Amazon advertising. Advertising revenue still grew 11% year over year in the third quarter, LSEG data show, its slowest pace in nearly four years. The segment consistently accounts for about 10% of total net sales. Seeking Alpha, citing The Wall Street Journal, put the advertising business at nearly $70 billion.

Walmart does not separately break out Walmart Connect's revenue in its earnings release. Chief financial officer John David Rainey told analysts and investors in August that advertising, including Walmart Connect, plus membership and marketplace operations accounted for 45% of quarterly operating income growth.

Not everyone reads the shift as a threat. Morningstar analyst Brett Husslein called it "an evolution rather than an existential threat" for retail media. Emarketer forecasts brands will spend 22.6% more on retail media in 2026 than last year's $60.7 billion.

Walmart has started testing ads in Sparky, its AI shopping chatbot, and Amazon has embedded ads in Alexa for Shopping, its AI shopping assistant. Brands are preparing for a change in what those ads need to do. Procter & Gamble, Nestle and L'Oreal have said they are trying to make product information digestible for AI agents.

Dan Marc, chief executive of retail media platform Footprints AI, expects Amazon and Walmart to sign their largest advertisers to multiyear deals to protect revenue. He also expects more discounts on retail media ads as shoppers turn to agents and large language models.

Amie Owen, chief client officer at digital commerce consultancy Flywheel, said she is not recommending clients fundamentally shift retail media budgets overnight. She said the firm is advising them to prepare for how discovery and purchase decisions may evolve.