JPMorgan Chase, Charles Schwab, Amazon, Neiman Marcus, and Kohl's have implemented blocks against AI personal agents like Meta Muse—tools designed to automate shopping, savings optimization, and subscription management on behalf of consumers.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said the bank blocks external AI agents for retail customers, citing security risks. The move follows recent reports of agents acting autonomously in customer accounts, prompting Senators Mark Warner and Bernie Sanders to call for bot legislation.
Yet the market is moving the opposite direction. Walmart announced last week it will allow AI agents to access its virtual storefronts, pricing, offers, and fees on equal footing with human shoppers.
An audit by identity-verification firms Billions Network and AmanTrue examined 51 large U.S. retailers. Only 11 have established deliberate policies on AI agents. Five—including Amazon, Kohl's, and Neiman Marcus—explicitly restrict access. The remaining 37 block agents unintentionally through existing bot rules designed to prevent data scraping.
None of the audited retailers currently allow verified AI agents to complete purchases. Billions Network found agents face barriers including third-party bot restrictions and broad prohibitions on external logins and checkout access.
Evin McMullen, co-founder and CEO of Billions Network and AmanTrue, noted most retailers have not made definitive decisions. Published access rules do not guarantee technical enforcement.
Michael Abbott, global banking lead at Accenture, argues that blocking AI agents is a losing long-term strategy. He views customer-authorized agents as an extension of consumer choice. Accenture research shows 65 percent of consumers are open to using a GPT-like financial assistant through a generative AI platform or digital wallet, with 71 percent saying they would welcome one.
The divide reveals a strategic calculation: institutions betting that friction deters harm versus those betting that friction deters growth. Customers appear to be voting with the latter.
