Amazon Blocks Third-Party AI Agents 🛑

Plus: Walmart cracks down on counterfeit sellers 🥷, while ShopMy launches a creator-led shopping platform 🛍️.

August 06, 2025

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Looks like Amazon’s done playing nice—Agentic AI just hit a brick wall 🧱🤖

Hi there, and welcome to another issue of The Ecom Press 🗞️!

This week’s a mix of power plays and platform pivots: Amazon’s tightening its grip on AI shopping agents, Walmart is sweeping its marketplace clean of fakes, and ShopMy is flipping the script with curated shopping through creators you trust.

It’s a packed lineup. Let’s jump right in 👇

In a rush? Here's the juice🤭:

🛑 Amazon blocks third-party AI agents.

🥷 Walmart cracks down on counterfeit sellers.

🛍️ ShopMy launches a creator-led shopping platform.

🛠️ Workshop: How to start selling on Etsy

⚡️Worthy Mentions

Source: ChatGPT Image Generator

Amazon has quietly blocked AI shopping tools like Google’s new agent, and Perplexity from indexing its listings, while simultaneously investing $25B into AI-powered logistics to boost same-day delivery and reduce operational costs. 

Here’s the lowdown ⬇️:

🤖 Blocking third-party AI agents: Amazon has modified its website code to block external AI tools like Google’s shopping agent, ChatGPT, and Perplexity from indexing its product listings. This prevents those platforms from displaying Amazon items in search results, limiting how consumers discover products through AI-driven assistants.

📉 No more Google Shopping ads: Alongside blocking bots, Amazon has reportedly paused all spending on Google Shopping ads. It's a clear shift away from relying on third-party platforms for visibility and toward keeping product discovery within its own ecosystem.

📊 Protecting product visibility: As consumers increasingly use AI agents for shopping, Amazon risks losing direct traffic if discovery happens elsewhere. By cutting off access now, the company is aiming to stay front-and-center in the shopper’s journey and protect seller visibility.

⚡ $25B for AI-powered logistics: While locking others out, Amazon is investing heavily in its own infrastructure. The $25B investment targets faster delivery via AI tools for routing, inventory prediction, and robotics. These systems are already driving 30% more same- or next-day deliveries and improving warehouse efficiency without scaling costs.

🚚 Alexa+ and smart automation: The Alexa+ upgrade adds real-time tracking and personalized shopping, while AI mapping improves fulfillment accuracy. At the same time, Amazon is using AI to cut emissions and waste, supporting its net-zero 2040 target.

Why it matters 🤷‍♂️

With how fast AI is developing in ecommerce, Amazon isn’t just competing on price or speed anymore, but on control. The dual move signals Amazon’s intent to control both discovery and fulfillment, keeping the full customer journey in-house. However, what about the potential of an influx of a ton of customers indirectly purchasing from Amazon through these agents? 

🥷 Walmart cracks down on counterfeit sellers.

Source: Reuters

Walmart is cracking down on fraud across its online marketplace, which now hosts over 500 million products from third-party sellers. With counterfeiters getting more sophisticated, the company is rolling out tougher verification checks, faster takedowns, and real-time AI tools to protect shoppers and legit sellers.

Here are the deets ⬇️:

🤖 AI-powered protection on listings: Walmart uses real-time AI systems to scan product listings for policy violations and intellectual property infringements, pairing automation with human review. These tools proactively flag and remove harmful listings before they reach customers.

🧾 Strict seller onboarding & monitoring: Before a seller can list, Walmart runs identity and business verification checks. Certain sensitive categories are restricted entirely to vetted merchants, and ongoing compliance reviews ensure sellers continue to meet the platform’s standards.

🚫 Swift enforcement and takedown: Listings that violate rules are removed immediately, and in serious cases, entire seller accounts are shut down. Walmart’s Trust & Safety team also operates rapid response protocols to investigate and act on emerging threats.

🛍️ Support for brands and honest sellers: Brand owners can report counterfeit activity using dedicated tools, and sellers are given guidance to stay compliant. Meanwhile, customers can return marketplace items in-store, adding another layer of buyer protection.

🤝 Pushing for legislation and agency support: Walmart backs key anti-counterfeiting laws like the INFORM Act and CORCA, while also collaborating with agencies like the FBI, Homeland Security, and the FTC. The company is sharing data with law enforcement and other retailers to identify repeat offenders.

Why it matters 🤨

Trust is everything in online retail. If shoppers can’t be sure what they’re buying is real, they’ll take their money elsewhere. Walmart’s moves show that as marketplaces grow, maintaining quality and credibility becomes just as important as expanding inventory.

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Source: ShopMy

ShopMy has launched a new shopping platform built around trusted creator recommendations. Instead of endless feeds or search algorithms, the platform helps users discover products through curated collections shaped by creators they already follow and trust. 

It’s part of ShopMy’s broader goal to connect creators, brands, and consumers in one intentional shopping experience.

Key features include ⚙️: 

🧩 Circles: At the center of the platform is Circles—a feature that lets users build their own shop by following groups of creators whose tastes influence what products they see. Shoppers can also create custom Circles or join ones curated by friends and influencers they follow.

🎯 Smart, Streamlined Discovery: ShopMy replaces cluttered feeds with direct tools like Search, Latest Finds, and Where to Buy, giving shoppers fast access to creator-recommended items without the need to scroll through social posts.

📝 Wishlisting and Product Organization: Users can save items from across different creators in a single place, organizing their picks and returning to them later, turning casual browsing into intentional buying.

📈 Most Popular = Trusted by the Crowd: To cut down on choice fatigue, the Most Popular section shows products consistently recommended across Circles, giving shoppers added confidence in what’s trending and worth checking out.

🤝 Value for Creators and Brands: Creators can now earn longer-term revenue through permanent storefronts, where saved items stay commissionable. Meanwhile, brands benefit from reaching more targeted, purchase-ready audiences through authentic creator curation.

Why it matters 🧐

This approach to product recommendation works based on aligned preferences, such that your favorite creator indirectly determines what your algorithm displays. It’s betting on a future where trust drives conversions. Regardless of the amount of AI automation out there, people trust platforms because of people, and so want buying experiences that feel human, not transactional.

🛎️ The Ecom Press Insider

Source: ChatGPT Image Generator 

Ecom Fact: More consumers are bypassing traditional search engines and heading straight to AI tools to discover and buy products, according to Commerce, the parent company of BigCommerce.

💡 Takeaway: As AI becomes the new storefront, being discoverable means more than SEO. Brands need to consider how they're represented in AI-driven conversations because that's where more customers are starting their shopping journey.

🛠️ Workshop: How to start selling on Etsy

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🔐 Secure Your Store from the Start: Sign up with a strong password and set up two-factor authentication. Etsy deals with real money, so don’t skip the security steps.

🛍️ List Your First Product (Even If It’s Just One): To open your shop, Etsy requires a product listing. Start simple. Whether it’s a candle, art print, or sewing pattern, create one high-quality product page to get rolling.

📸 Use Photos and Videos to Stand Out: Add all 10 photos if possible and include a short video. Etsy listings with videos reportedly get twice as many orders. A simple spinning shot on a turntable can do wonders.

📈 Optimize with Tags and SEO: Fill in detailed titles and 13 relevant tags. Use keyword tools like Google Trends or EverBee to help your product show up in search. Bonus: spy on top-selling competitors’ tag ideas.

🎯 Launch, Learn, and Iterate Fast: Don’t let perfectionism stop you. Upload a solid listing, then tweak and expand. Start with 3–5 products, get some early reviews from friends or family, and build momentum from there.

That’s your jumpstart on Etsy! 🛒 We crafted this tutorial so anyone, yes, even you, can start today. Watch the full workshop here and take that first step.

⚡️Worthy Mentions

Wrapping up…

From code-blocking bots to chasing down counterfeiters—and even redefining product discovery through people over algorithms—this week served some serious ecom sauce 🍽️

Plenty more where that came from, so stay sharp, stay curious, and if you’re loving the drops, don’t forget to subscribe and share with a friend or two 💌

Catch you in the next one 😉!