This article is reproduced with authorization from Lanhai Yiguan.

Meta recently launched its AI agent Muse in the US and Canada. As a latecomer it drew little initial attention, but within ten days it topped the US App Store free chart, with downloads and daily active users exceeding ChatGPT's levels in the same period. JPMorgan said Muse could become one of the most widely adopted consumer AI applications after ChatGPT. Meta's shares rose more than 11% in a single day.

Facing Muse's momentum, Amazon quickly blocked it from shopping on its platform. Shopify took the opposite path: it opened its catalog data and connected Shop Pay to Muse's payment system so users can check out inside the conversation without leaving merchant sites.

Muse's core difference lies not in its features but in Meta's vast social network. It can draw on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to access years of user interests, behavior trails and relationship chains. This gives Muse a precise "social radar" to detect hidden needs and turn insight into execution.

I. Amazon blocked it overnight; Shopify handed it the checkout keys

Muse's main function is not answering questions but doing tasks. Users state a goal once and Muse can send emails, book trips and shop online. Even if the user exits the app, Muse can continue working in Muse Secure VM.

In shopping, if a user asks for a stroller, Muse filters options. Before payment it shows a confirmation card with product details, amount and payment method; the user must approve or reject.

On September 20, Amazon began blocking Muse from shopping on its platform, warning that unauthorized AI agent access violates its terms. Amazon cited three reasons: no prior authorization, failure to identify itself as an AI agent, and risk that Muse could access and store login credentials. Meta responded that Muse runs in an isolated secure virtual machine, stores credentials separately, cannot see passwords or payment methods, and uses one-time card numbers from Stripe Link. It also said dialogue data is isolated from Meta's advertising system.

By contrast, Shopify embraced Muse. On launch day, September 8, Shopify connected Meta to its Agentic Storefronts, letting eligible merchants' products enter Meta's AI shopping scenarios through Shopify Catalog. On March 24, it expanded the system to ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google AI Mode and Gemini. On September 21, Shopify integrated Shop Pay into Muse's shopping flow for in-conversation checkout. Shopify shares rose about 7% that day; Meta rose 11.43%.

II. Amazon's poison, Shopify's honey?

Amazon is a relatively closed ecosystem. It sells directly to consumers, collects commissions and fulfillment fees from third-party sellers, and earns from advertising and Prime. When consumers enter Amazon, they search, browse, compare and buy; Amazon monetizes these actions through advertising. AI agents like Muse can remove the browsing step. If consumers hand search, comparison and ordering to AI agents, Amazon's on-site traffic, search scene and ad exposure may be affected. Advertising is Amazon's main profit source, reaching $68.635 billion in 2025, up 22.1% year over year. Over time, Amazon's status as the online shopping entry point may shift to AI agents, reducing Amazon to a shipping warehouse.

Yet Amazon is not shutting out all external AI. On September 10, 2026, it partnered with OpenAI to let advertisers place ads on ChatGPT through Amazon DSP. But it did not open core product data or transaction systems; it uses DSP to import traffic from ChatGPT and guide consumers back to Amazon to complete purchases. Amazon may eventually treat Muse the same way.

Shopify's ecosystem is not built on being a comprehensive shopping entrance. Merchants build and run stores on Shopify's infrastructure; Shopify does not directly control or distribute traffic and earns from subscriptions, tools and Shop Pay. To Shopify, traffic from Google, Instagram, ChatGPT or Muse is the same: as long as the transaction checks out through Shopify, it is Shopify's business. That is why Shopify opened its doors instead of blocking Muse.

However, Shopify's openness has costs. When shopping conversations move from brand sites to Muse's interface, merchants have less visibility into consumer decision-making—they may not know which competitors the AI showed, what it said about rivals, or why users were persuaded. Over time this may affect brand health.

In essence, Amazon and Shopify are both defending their own business models.

III. How powerful is Muse?

Muse's greatest advantage is not technical. Other agents can replicate its secure cloud virtual machine. The hard-to-copy advantage is Meta's huge social graph across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, with accumulated user interests, visit trails and relationship chains.

With this data, Muse can quickly understand who you are, what you like, what you recently did and who your friends are, and can even predict what you want to do. Many users may feel Muse is smoother and more convenient than ordinary AI agents.

Muse is still new and can feel slow, with frequent confirmation pop-ups that sometimes make tasks take longer. But in general, an agent's performance depends on the resources it can call upon. Born with Meta's vast social network, Muse will likely outperform other agents in shopping, dining and travel.

(Source: Friends of Hugo Cross-border)

SellerWizard comment: Meta's AI shopping agent is shifting the traffic entry from search to conversation. Cross-border sellers should watch compliance risks behind Amazon's ban and prioritize independent brand sites and AI-readable structured product data.

Source: Hugo Cross-border
Original link: https://www.cifnews.com/article/189311