AI agents promise to do everything for you. There may be a big wrinkle in that plan

(CNN) — Meta wants its new Muse AI agent to be the gateway to users’ digital lives. But that all depends on whether popular apps and services are willing to give it the keys.

Agents go a step beyond how most people have used AI up to this point. Instead of simply answering questions, organizing emails and creating images, they can take multistep actions on the internet. They can compare prices, shop, book reservations and fill out forms, if the companies that sell things and take reservations allow them.

That change may spark a new battle over the future of internet services. Amazon recently blocked Muse’s AI agent from accessing its store, and some experts say the move could foreshadow a dilemma for online businesses.

If more people use AI agents for daily tasks, businesses may need to make a critical choice: Partner with companies like Meta and risk their own platforms possibly becoming irrelevant. Or potentially miss out on reaching billions of customers through what may be the future of how people get things done.

Shares of Airbnb, Expedia, and Trip Advisor fell around 5% last week after Meta announced new updates for its Muse agent.

Meta’s Muse makes waves

The idea of AI agents isn’t new; OpenAI, Google, Apple and Amazon, along with Meta, have been working towards this future for years and have gradually rolled out new agent-like features.

But Muse caught on almost immediately, shooting to the top of the free app chart on Apple’s App Store 10 days after its September 8 debut. Meta owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, and its pervasive internet presence — along with the app’s relatively easy interface — largely drove the AI agent’s success.

Compared to other tech giants, Meta has done a better job at showing Muse’s capabilities to consumers, according to Francisco Jeronimo, an analyst with technology market research firm International Data Corporation.

“Others have not been so vocal about using the agents to be able to shop as Meta has been with Muse, and I think that’s the main difference,” he said.

Meta has partnered with Walmart, GameStop, Sephora, Expedia, OpenTable and Shopify to incorporate their services into the Muse app. But e-commerce juggernaut Amazon refused to play ball with Meta. Amazon blocked the agent, saying it was not given notice or a choice about whether its store should be available through Muse.

The company also cited concerns around how Amazon account data and credentials would be handled, and said agents don’t offer Amazon’s personalized recommendations.

“We think it’s fairly straightforward that third-party applications that offer to make purchases on behalf of customers from other businesses should operate openly and respect service provider decisions about whether or not to participate,” Amazon said in a statement to CNN.

Online restaurant reservations platform Resy also told CNN that it “does not currently permit unapproved third-party bots or agents” to access its service. The platform locked a user’s account following attempts by his AI agent, a separate assistant called Instinct, to book hundreds of tables per hour earlier this month.

“Unapproved automated activity can introduce risks to the platform and compromise a fair reservation experience for diners,” the company said.

CNN was able to book a reservation through Muse after providing login information, like a phone number and confirmation code. Resy integrates with ChatGPT and Claude and said it will “continue to evaluate opportunities” as AI agents progress.

Risks and rewards of agents

Amazon may be an outlier. But some experts say AI agents pose real risks that could give many online service providers some pause before allowing agents to use their platforms.

For one, there’s the potential decrease in web traffic if tasks are primarily handled on the AI agent apps. Brands could also lose the ability to learn about customer shopping habits or further entice users into additional purchases with in-app promotions or product recommendations.

“You browse Amazon for that thing that you’re looking for, but then you also see other things that you know you may end up buying,” said Mandeep Singh, a senior industry analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence.

Additionally, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday that the company eventually plans to charge a commission for transactions made through Muse. This means other companies may lose a cut of their sales.

And it’s not just shopping and reservation apps that may be impacted. AI agents are generally good at tasks that require research, like comparing insurance policies or mobile carrier plans. This could potentially make it easier for users to switch plans to land a better deal.

But the upside could also be huge. Muse has already been downloaded more than 2.5 million times, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, giving businesses visibility to millions of people around the world. That could make Muse especially appealing to smaller and mid-sized brands, like those who work with Shopify.

That was part of the appeal for travel platform Expedia, which chose to allow AI agents because it wants “to show up wherever travelers are searching,” Kathryn Heinz, Expedia’s vice president of enterprise alliances and AI, said in a comment to CNN. She added that about two-thirds of Expedia’s traffic comes through its own platforms.

And some might see it as a move to future-proof their business.

“I think long term, that’s exactly what we will see: the AI platforms to become the layer and the main interface for most of us when we are when we are shopping,” International Data Corporation’s Jeronimo said.

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