Amazon began blocking Meta’s personal AI agent Muse on September 20, saying it does not identify itself and appears to store login details. A day later, Shopify said Muse will be able to pay on all Shopify stores. On September 22, six banks published principles for shopping by AI agents.
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- Amazon began blocking Muse, Meta’s AI agent that shops for users, on September 20. A day later, Shopify said Muse will be able to pay on all Shopify stores.
- On September 22, six banks published their own rules for AI shoppers. They say everyone in a purchase should know when an agent is involved.
- AI shopping agents need clear rules. Until those rules exist, each store and bank will set its own.
- Amazon says Muse does not identify itself and appears to store login details. Meta says Muse cannot see passwords or payment details.
- AI agent
- An AI that takes steps on its own to finish a task, such as booking or coding.
Amazon says Muse does not identify itself
Meta launched Muse in the United States on September 8. Around September 18, it reached No. 1 among free iPhone apps in the US, according to the app data firm Sensor Tower. Download estimates from different data firms vary widely.
Amazon began blocking Muse on the evening of September 20, US time. Shoppers saw a pop-up: “Continued access by an unauthorized AI agent violates Amazon’s Conditions of Use.”
Amazon says Meta never told it that Muse would use its store. It says Muse does not identify itself and appears to capture and store customers’ login details. According to GeekWire, Amazon acted after Meta refused its request to leave Amazon out of Muse.
Meta says Muse cannot see passwords or payment details, and that login details go into secure storage. Amazon also runs its own shopping agents. It says its Buy for Me agent identifies itself to other stores and lets them opt out.
Amazon blocked Muse on September 20. Shopify opened its checkout a day later, and six banks published principles on September 22.
Shopify opens its checkout, but gives no date
On September 21, Shopify’s chief executive, Tobi Lütke, said Muse will be able to pay with Shop Pay on all Shopify stores. Meta’s chief AI officer, Alexandr Wang, posted a matching message.
This was not a reply to Amazon. Meta had already listed Shop Pay as coming soon when it launched Muse. Neither company has given a start date.
Investors liked the plan. Shopify’s shares rose 7.3 percent on September 21 and another 7.1 percent the next day.
Security remains a question. On September 21, researcher Patrick Wardle disclosed a flaw in the Muse app for Mac that could let an attacker take over the agent. Meta fixed it within about a day. It says an attacker would already need malware on the computer.
Banks want to know who the agent works for
On September 22, six banks published voluntary principles called “Building Trust in Agentic Commerce”. The banks are ING, NatWest, Bank of America, Capital One, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and New Zealand’s ASB.
They warn of more scams, fraud, and disputes. They worry about agents that type card details into websites, or that steer buyers to payment methods with weaker protection. Criminals could also pretend to be agents or shops.
Their five principles are transparency, safety, privacy and data, choice, and interoperability. Everyone in a purchase should know when an agent is involved and whom it acts for. Customers should control what an agent may do, and disputes should be settled fairly.
The paper does not mention Muse, Amazon, or Shopify. The banks invite comments from regulators, and a second paper on putting the principles into practice will follow. The banks also have their own interests, because they issue the cards that agents use.
Sources
Every fact in this story comes from the sources below. Open them to check our work.
- 1Primary source · September 8, 2026Introducing Muse: The World’s First Personal AI Agent Built for Everyone Meta
- 2Research · September 21, 2026Amazon blocks Meta’s Muse AI assistant in new standoff over agentic shopping GeekWire
- 3
- 4Research · September 21, 2026Meta’s AI agent, Muse, is chasing ChatGPT’s App Store rise — and hit No. 1 with fewer downloads Yahoo Tech
- 5Research · September 22, 2026Meta partners with Shopify to bring Shop Pay checkout to Muse AI The Paypers
- 6Research · September 22, 2026Shopify Stock Jumps on Meta Muse Deal: Time to Buy? Zacks via Yahoo Finance
- 7Research · September 22, 2026Meta patched Muse’s zero-day, but security teams still lack visibility into what the agent can access VentureBeat
- 8Primary source · September 22, 2026Global banks collaborate on principles for trusted agentic commerce ING, for six banks
- 9
- 10Research · September 22, 2026Banks warn AI shopping bots raise scam, fraud and data-privacy risks Reuters via Euronext
We read Meta’s launch post and the banks’ press release and paper, then compared them with GeekWire, TechCrunch, Reuters, VentureBeat, and trade reports. Amazon’s reasons and Meta’s security description are company claims that we could not test. App download estimates differ between data firms, so we leave them out.