Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy told analysts on the company's third-quarter earnings call on October 29 that few customers are buying through outside AI shopping agents, because the experience is 'still not great, nor more convenient than coming to a retailer directly.' He did not name Meta's Muse, but the remarks came about a month after Amazon blocked Muse from its online store, saying its access was inconsistent with the terms of use its customers had agreed to.

Jassy also said outside agents were not responsible for Amazon's weaker-than-expected advertising growth in the quarter — the concern behind the question, since an agent that shops without visiting Amazon's pages also skips the ads that are a key profit driver. Meta has signed shopping partners that welcome Muse, including Shopify, Walmart and Best Buy; Amazon has not joined them.

Amazon's own agent is the one Jassy wants used. He said more than 400 million customers used Alexa for Shopping in the past year, with customer interactions up 570% year over year, and that US customers who shop through it spend 50% more per order than those who do not. Amazon also added more than 100 new Alexa for Shopping capabilities on October 29, ahead of the holiday season.