Amazon.com Blocks AI From Shopping... Is 'Moduui AI' Okay? [Global AI Briefing]

[Financial News] As an AI assistant stepped forward to shop on people's behalf, a major platform company put the brakes on it. Amazon.com blocked Meta Platforms' AI agent 'Muse' from accessing its shopping site. 
As the Moduui AI project, which aims to create AI services that everyone can use directly in daily life—including shopping, healthcare and finance—plans to launch a beta service next month, calls are growing in South Korea for urgent advance checks on AI agents' access rights to major platforms. 
According to TechCrunch, The Verge and other major foreign media outlets on the 22nd (local time), Amazon.com blocked Muse from accessing its site to search for and purchase products on behalf of users. Amazon.com maintains that an unauthorized AI agent's continued access to its shopping site violates its terms of use. Meta Platforms had accessed Amazon.com through Muse without notifying the company in advance.

Amazon.com pointed out, "Muse appears to be accessing the website without disclosing that it is an AI agent and storing customers' login information."
Amazon.com had reportedly asked Meta Platforms to exclude its shopping site from the sites Muse could access. However, Meta Platforms did not accept the request, prompting Amazon.com to block Muse's access.
Muse is a personal AI agent developed by Meta Platforms. Its shopping functions are considered a key strength, allowing it to search for and compare products and even make purchases on behalf of users. 
Industry experts analyzed Amazon.com's move as highlighting the possibility that control of the online shopping industry could shift as AI enters the shopping arena.
For example, if AI goes beyond searching for and comparing products to executing purchases, consumers will not need to visit shopping sites directly. Online shopping platforms argue that they would have to hand over their points of contact with users, purchase data, and control over recommendations and advertising to AI agents. They are therefore calling for prior consultations on the functions of AI agents.
Experts say the same issue will also apply to Moduui AI, which is preparing an action-capable AI agent service for nationwide use by the end of the year.
Advance checks and rulemaking must come first, including determining which sites AI agents that connect portal searches with shopping and real estate services can access and how far they can go when handling personal and credit information. These agents are designed to support purchases after searching for, comparing and recommending products. 
An industry expert stressed, "The clash between Amazon.com and Muse is a case that highlights the need for careful consultations in advance in the age of AI agents—not only about AI's performance, but also about which platforms AI can access, with what authority, and according to what standards it will act on behalf of people." 
[email protected] Gu-soon Lee Reporter