Amazon is reportedly taking steps to block other companies’ artificial intelligence shopping tools from its website.
The eCommerce giant updated the code on its site to include language that keeps out new AI agents from Google, The Information reported Wednesday (July 30).
Amazon has taken similar precautions with bots from companies like Perplexity, Anthropic and OpenAI, the report said.
It appears as if Amazon is preventing its products from even showing up in some search results for outside chatbots and search tools, according to the report. A search for Amazon products using Perplexity and ChatGPT turned up results from other retailers but did not directly point to listings on Amazon, the report said. (A similar attempt by PYMNTS offered the same results.)
Amazon did not reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.
These policies are an “extreme example” of how retailers are weighing precautions against other companies’ AI tools, the report said. Shopify has taken a narrower focus, while Walmart’s approach is more wait-and-see.
If AI tools, such as chatbots and searches that provide product recommendations, or AI-powered personal shoppers become more popular, retailers could find fewer people directly browsing their sites, according to the report.
“The product discovery funnel is going to collapse as a result of consumers integrating AI into their shopping experience,” said Michael Morton, senior analyst at MoffettNathanson, per the report. “Everyone who has been positioned to make money along the way of that discovery is going to see their business model change.”
PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster explored the topic earlier this year, writing that retailers could soon “find themselves caught in the proverbial chatbot crossfire.”
With AI agents increasingly handling the search and presentation of results (or completed sales), traditional retailers risk losing their visibility in the commerce ecosystem entirely.
Meanwhile, Amazon and Walmart are attempting to protect their “retail soft spots” with the help of AI.
“The latest strategic maneuvers from both companies … reflect not just tactical business decisions but signal a structural transformation of what it means to be a modern retailer in the 21st century,” PYMNTS reported June 12.
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