Shopify Enables Checkout for Meta Agents While Amazon Blocks Muse Agent from Its Store

Shopify enabled agentic checkout via the Shop Pay service for eligible stores using Meta's Muse agent starting September 21, in a move allowing AI agents to complete purchases on behalf of users, according to reports from Digiday cited by New Digital Age.

In contrast, Amazon began blocking the same agent from its store on September 20, stating that it failed to identify itself while interacting with the platform, according to the coverage. The opposing stances reflect a broader dispute over who owns the moment of purchase: does it remain with the merchant building the customer relationship, or shift to the agent conversing with the user and suggesting products?

This divide presents retailers and advertisers with a new equation, as agents expand their access to product catalogs and shopping carts while platforms seek to regulate the conditions of this access. Retailers' concerns vary between losing customer data and diminishing buyer loyalty, and the opportunities to reach broader audiences opened up by these agents.

No unified position has yet emerged among major platforms, leaving advertisers in a shifting environment governed by individual platform policies. Industry experts advise merchants to review their sales channels and engagement policies before agentic checkout arrangements expand, as deciding which agent to accept onto the checkout page has become a wager on who controls the sale.

What do these terms mean?

**Agentic Checkout:** A model in which an AI agent completes the full purchasing process, from product selection to payment, on behalf of the user. **Shop Pay:** An expedited checkout service offered by Shopify that saves buyer information to speed up order completion. **AI Agent:** A software program that acts independently to perform specific tasks such as searching, comparing, and purchasing.