Amazon is shutting out Meta's AI shopping agent, a defensive move that highlights a growing threat to online retailers and a windfall for app store owners.

• Amazon has banned Meta's Muse app from crawling its website.
• As AI agents shop for people, fewer human eyes land on retail sites like Amazon, DoorDash, or Wingstop.
• That makes ads inside app stores and streaming apps more valuable, which helps Apple and Google.
• Meta Muse, ChatGPT, and Gemini are now all buying ads in the app store, fighting for the same users.

Outlook: Expect more retailers to block AI shopping agents while the chatbot makers keep pouring money into advertising to win users.