Amazon’s Latest Challenge: When Bots Do the Buying

Key takeaways

AI shopping agents can reduce the value of Amazon’s sponsored ads by replacing human browsing and product discovery with automated evaluation and purchasing.
Muse has attracted millions of users and could become a major consumer AI application, but most people still rely on established Amazon and retail-shopping habits.
Amazon blocked Muse for safety reasons, is promoting Alexa for shopping, and may ultimately cooperate with outside agents rather than exclude them.
Analysts and experts say Amazon’s dependence in consumers’ everyday lives makes its business difficult to disrupt, but the effect of agentic commerce remains uncertain because the technology is still new.
McKinsey’s advice is to redesign complete workflows around proprietary data and operating capabilities instead of simply following the most publicized technology trend.

Summary

McKinsey says AI is moving into the physical world

The episode opens with a McKinsey message featuring Tanguy Katlan, a senior partner and director of the McKinsey Global Institute. He says AI no longer lives only on a screen and is becoming tangible through robotics, engineering, space travel, scientific discovery, and other applications. McKinsey’s 2026 Technology Trends Outlook identifies 14 important trends; Katlan says leaders must improve every component of a system and redesign processes “from a blank sheet” to unlock the technology’s full potential.

AI shopping agents threaten Amazon’s advertising model

Host Julie Chang asks WSJ reporter Isabella Simonetti why shopping bots threaten Amazon. Simonetti says Amazon’s advertising business generated almost $70 billion last year, much of it from sponsored product ads shown to shoppers. An agent such as Meta’s Muse can evaluate product specifications and buy on a person’s behalf, bypassing the browsing experience in which ads influence human behavior. If agents make the decisions, brands may see less reason to pay Amazon for advertising that no longer affects purchases.

Muse is popular, but most people still are not letting it buy

Muse signed up millions of users after its September launch, and J.P. Morgan analysts said it could become the most widely used consumer AI application since ChatGPT. Simonetti emphasizes that most people still are not using agents to purchase products because their routines—going to Amazon or familiar stores, searching, and buying—are deeply established. Amazon blocked Muse from shopping its site shortly after launch, citing safety concerns, while CEO Andy Jassy said outside agents were not yet hurting ad revenue and promoted Amazon’s own Alexa for shopping.

Amazon may work with outside agents rather than defeat them

Simonetti says Alexa for shopping works differently from Muse and includes a “buy for me” feature for some products. Amazon says more than 400 million customers used Alexa for shopping in the past 12 months, but Simonetti’s own shopping habits make her unlikely to delegate ordinary purchases unless she needs detailed comparisons or something highly specific. Experts told her Amazon is difficult to displace because people depend on it for groceries and essentials; Muse may remain an add-on assistant, and Jassy hinted Amazon could eventually make deals with outside agents. The long-term financial impact is still unclear, although Elon Musk and investor Paul Graham have suggested agents create an opening for an Amazon competitor.

McKinsey urges leaders to apply trends to their own operating models

In the closing sponsored message, Katlan names autonomy, absorption speed, cybersecurity, co-design of chips and models, and expanding grid and energy capacity as five themes in McKinsey’s technology outlook. He says companies should not chase whichever trend attracts the most capital or press attention. Competitive advantage comes from redesigning end-to-end workflows, using proprietary data and context, rewiring the operating model, and upskilling people for the company’s specific business needs.

Show notes

People are adopting AI agents to research and buy products—and that’s putting Amazon’s $70 billion advertising business at risk. WSJ’s Isabella Simonetti breaks down why bots that can shop pose such a threat to the e-commerce giant, and how Amazon is fighting back. Julie Chang hosts.

Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.