AI agents that research and buy products for shoppers could erode the advertising businesses of Amazon and Walmart, the two largest retail media sellers, according to a Reuters analysis published Wednesday, Nov. 4.
Reuters, citing Emarketer projections, reported that the two companies hold a combined 88% share of an estimated $74.4 billion in US retail media spending. Brands pay retailers to promote products on their sites and apps, and agents that shop on a consumer’s behalf, such as Meta’s Muse, could bypass those placements, Reuters said. It cited Morgan Stanley researchers who said in July that such agents could account for 10% to 20% of US e-commerce spending by 2030.
The two retailers are taking different paths, according to Reuters, which reported that Amazon banned Muse from its website in September, saying it appeared to have accessed its store without authorization, capturing and storing customer credentials. Amazon told Reuters this week that third-party agents should operate openly and respect providers’ decisions about whether to participate. Reuters said Walmart is officially partnering with Meta’s tool. Walmart and Meta had earlier backed the Personal Agent Protocol, an open standard for AI agents, with Stripe, AI Tech Daily reported.
On Oct. 21, Walmart rolled out infrastructure for third-party agentic commerce, Reuters reported. When a shopper uses an agent to browse, Walmart creates a profile for that agent linked to the shopper’s Walmart account, and consumers can approve purchases or set spending limits.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said last week that third-party agents have had no meaningful effect yet on Amazon ads, according to Reuters’ account of his remarks. Still, Amazon’s 11% year-over-year advertising growth in the third quarter was its slowest in nearly four years, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters.
Reuters reported that Walmart has begun testing ads in Sparky, its AI shopping chatbot, while Amazon has placed ads in its assistant, Alexa for Shopping. Dan Marc, CEO of retail media platform Footprints AI, said he expects both retailers to sign their largest advertisers to multiyear deals and expects more discounting on retail media ads, according to Reuters.
Not everyone sees a crisis. Morningstar analyst Brett Husslein called the moment “an evolution rather than an existential threat” for retail media, Reuters reported. “We are not recommending that clients fundamentally shift their retail media budgets overnight,” said Amie Owen, chief client officer at Flywheel, according to Reuters.
The Wall Street Journal’s Tech News Briefing podcast took up the same theme on Wednesday in an episode titled “Amazon’s Latest Challenge: When Bots Do the Buying,” which its show notes say examines how Amazon is responding.
Walmart declined to comment to Reuters, and Meta declined to comment on Amazon’s ban.
Sources
- Reuters via Investing.com: Analysis: AI shopping agents could threaten Amazon and Walmart ad business, by Juveria Tabassum, Nicholas P. Brown and Arriana McLymore (November 4, 2026)
- WSJ Tech News Briefing: Amazon’s Latest Challenge: When Bots Do the Buying (podcast, November 4, 2026)
- AI Tech Daily: Meta, Walmart and Stripe back Personal Agent Protocol, an open standard for AI agents (October 6, 2026)
- AI Tech Daily: Wall Street bets Meta Muse becomes a new AI revenue engine (September 22, 2026)
- AI Tech Daily: Amazon says AWS sales rose 39% to $46.0 billion (October 29, 2026)