Amazon blocks AI shopping bots
Amazon has intensified efforts to prevent artificial intelligence companies from scraping data on its e-commerce site, adding six major AI-related bots—including those from Meta, Google, and Huawei—to its publicly available robots.txt blacklist. This policy reflects Amazon’s increasingly aggressive stance against outside AI tools that collect product information, monitor prices, or facilitate automated purchases. With its vast e-commerce data and $56 billion advertising business, Amazon aims to shield its marketplace from innovations that could disrupt its control over shopper experience and ad revenue.
The rise of AI shopping agents promises personalized, streamlined consumer experiences, allowing users to discover, compare, and purchase products beyond traditional web interfaces. However, Amazon's actions mean these tools may struggle to offer comprehensive results if retailers block or limit crawler access. While robots.txt restrictions are advisory, most "well-behaved" AI agents will comply, leaving gaps in their datasets. Even Shopify, which recently issued new policies for third-party bots, requires that “buy-for-me” agents go through human review and integrate with its checkout system—suggesting that open aggregation may be harder than anticipated.
The retail industry's battle with aggregators is reminiscent of other sectors. In travel, airlines like Ryanair and service firms such as Direct Line (insurance) have blocked price comparison sites from scraping their data, aiming to preserve direct customer relationships, avoid downward price pressure and protect valuable retail media traffic. While some aggregators formed partnerships and gained selective access, others faced legal and technological barriers. The trend signals that leading companies often resist aggregation models when they threaten their competitive advantage or their ability to control margins.
Given the high stakes for data ownership and monetization, additional retailers may adopt similar policies as Amazon. If the largest marketplaces successfully block outside AI agents, users may see less innovation in AI-driven shopping automation, or face fragmented platforms limiting the promise of seamless purchase. History suggests this contest between aggregators and primary sellers will continue—fuelling ongoing debates about fair access, innovation, and control in the digital economy. Lets see how this story unravels!
