# eBay appears to block Meta's Muse and other AI agents from browsing

published: 2026-11-10T17:05:42.154Z
topic: browsers
source: https://www.theverge.com/tech/1030838/ebay-ai-agents-meta-muse-agentic-shopping
url: https://aiagentnews.io/stories/ebay-appears-to-block-meta-s-muse-and-other-ai-agents-from-browsing

eBay appears to have blocked AI agents, including Meta's Muse, from browsing its marketplace, according to The Verge's reporting. The move comes as retailers take varying positions on third-party agents, and eBay says it is selectively restricting access while it talks with potential partners.

A reader told The Verge that Meta's Muse agent had for several weeks compiled a daily digest of watches for sale on sites including eBay, with links, prices, shipping details and notes on condition. Recently Muse said it was blocked from eBay and could not retrieve any listings, though The Verge reproduced the block with other search requests. In some cases Muse directed users to outside sites that mirrored eBay listings.

eBay had already updated its user agreement to ban "buy-for-me agents" and "LLM-driven bots" that place orders without human review. An eBay spokesperson declined to say whether it had recently added limits, but said the company takes a selective approach to third-party access and has restricted agents in certain cases, including unauthorized scraping and training on its data. The spokesperson also said eBay is in ongoing discussions with potential partners about how third-party agents could help buyers find its inventory.

Other retailers differ in how they treat outside agents. Amazon blocks external agents from browsing or shopping entirely, Target allows agents in some cases and blocks them in others, and Shopify has opened its catalog of a billion listings so shoppers can have agents buy on their behalf. Uber and DoorDash have also reported that only a small number of orders came through third-party agents.

## Why it matters if you build agents

Agents that pull marketplace listings for users may now be blocked on eBay or redirected to third-party mirror sites, so builders should not assume access to a major retailer will hold. Terms that prohibit automated ordering without human review set limits that agent flows need to be designed around. Because access varies from site to site, shopping agents need fallbacks and monitoring for blocked requests.