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

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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.

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.

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Meta says its Muse AI agent can do things for you. I put it to the test

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.

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Now AI is trying to gobble up dinner reservations

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.

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.

Meta is betting big on its Muse AI agent with a blitz of new gadgets

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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Meta希望其新推出的Muse人工智能代理能够成为用户数字生活的入口。但这完全取决于热门应用和服务是否愿意将其权限授予Muse。

这些智能助手的功能远超大多数人目前对人工智能的使用方式。它们不仅能回答问题、整理邮件和创建图像，还能在互联网上执行多步骤操作。如果商家允许，它们可以比较价格、购物、预订和填写表格。

这一变化可能会引发一场关于互联网服务未来的新一轮争论。亚马逊最近阻止了Muse的人工智能代理访问其商店，一些专家表示，此举可能预示着在线企业将面临困境。

如果越来越多的人使用人工智能助手处理日常事务，企业可能面临一个关键抉择：是与 Meta 等公司合作，冒着自身平台可能被淘汰的风险；还是错失通过人工智能助手触达数十亿客户的机会，而人工智能助手或许代表着人们未来完成任务的方式。

上周，在 Meta 宣布对其 Muse 代理进行更新后，Airbnb、Expedia 和 Trip Advisor 的股价下跌了约 5%。

人工智能代理的概念并不新鲜；OpenAI、谷歌、苹果和亚马逊以及 Meta 等公司多年来一直在为实现这一未来而努力，并逐步推出了新的类似代理的功能。

但Muse几乎立刻就获得了成功，在9月8日上线后的10天内就登上了苹果应用商店免费应用排行榜榜首。Meta公司拥有Instagram、Facebook和WhatsApp，其在互联网上的广泛影响力，以及该应用相对简单的界面，在很大程度上推动了这款人工智能助手的成功。

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Meta声称其Muse人工智能代理可以为你做很多事情。我对此进行了测试。

据科技市场研究公司国际数据公司 (IDC) 的分析师 Francisco Jeronimo 称，与其他科技巨头相比，Meta 在向消费者展示 Muse 的功能方面做得更好。

“其他艺人不像 Meta 和 Muse 那样公开谈论利用经纪人来挑选商品，我认为这是主要区别，”他说。

Meta已与沃尔玛、GameStop、丝芙兰、Expedia、OpenTable和Shopify合作，将它们的服务整合到Muse应用程序中。但电商巨头亚马逊拒绝与Meta合作。亚马逊屏蔽了Meta的代理，称其事先未收到通知，也未被告知是否允许其商店通过Muse上架。

该公司还对亚马逊账户数据和凭证的处理方式表示担忧，并表示代理商不提供亚马逊的个性化推荐。

亚马逊在给 CNN 的一份声明中表示：“我们认为，第三方应用程序如果提供代表客户从其他企业购买商品的服务，就应该公开运营，并尊重服务提供商关于是否参与的决定，这一点非常明确。”

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现在人工智能正试图抢占晚餐预订市场。

在线餐厅预订平台Resy也告诉CNN，他们“目前不允许未经授权的第三方机器人或代理”访问其服务。本月初，该平台曾因一名用户的AI代理（一个名为Instinct的独立助手）试图每小时预订数百张餐位而锁定了该用户的账户。

该公司表示：“未经批准的自动化活动可能会给平台带来风险，并损害食客的公平预订体验。”

CNN在提供登录信息（例如电话号码和确认码）后，通过Muse成功预订了座位。Resy集成了ChatGPT和Claude，并表示随着人工智能代理的进步，将“继续评估各种机会”。

亚马逊或许是个例外。但一些专家表示，人工智能代理确实存在风险，这可能会让许多在线服务提供商在允许代理使用其平台之前三思。

首先，如果任务主要由人工智能代理应用程序处理，则网站流量可能会下降。品牌也可能失去了解客户购物习惯的能力，或者无法通过应用内促销或产品推荐来进一步吸引用户购买更多商品。

“你在亚马逊上浏览你想要的东西，但你也会看到其他一些东西，你知道你最终可能会买这些东西，”彭博行业研究高级行业分析师曼迪普·辛格说。

此外，Meta首席执行官马克·扎克伯格周三表示，该公司最终计划对通过Muse进行的交易收取佣金。这意味着其他公司可能会损失一部分销售额。

Meta公司正大力押注其Muse人工智能代理，并推出了一系列新产品。

受影响的不仅仅是购物和预订应用。人工智能代理通常擅长需要研究的任务，例如比较保险单或移动运营商套餐。这可能会让用户更容易更换套餐以获得更优惠的价格。

但其潜在收益也可能非常巨大。据市场调研公司Sensor Tower的数据显示，Muse的下载量已超过250万次，让企业能够触达全球数百万用户。这使得Muse对中小品牌，例如那些与Shopify合作的品牌，尤其具有吸引力。

这正是旅游平台 Expedia 选择启用人工智能代理的原因之一。Expedia 企业联盟与人工智能副总裁 Kathryn Heinz 在接受 CNN 采访时表示，Expedia 希望“出现在旅行者搜索的任何地方”。她还补充说，Expedia 约三分之二的流量来自其自身平台。

有些人可能会认为这是为了让企业面向未来做好准备。

国际数据公司 (IDC) 的杰罗尼莫表示：“我认为从长远来看，这正是我们将看到的：人工智能平台将成为我们大多数人在购物时的主要界面和底层技术。”