Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said third-party AI shopping agents were not yet meaningfully affecting Amazon’s advertising business. He pointed to low adoption and an experience he said was “still not great, nor more convenient than coming to a retailer directly.” That view came as Amazon reported $19.6 billion in third-quarter ad revenue, below analyst expectations.
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What Jassy said about outside shopping agents
Jassy said few customers were doing much shopping through external agents and rejected the idea that those agents were meaningfully hurting Amazon Ads.
14 His comments focused on adoption and convenience. The available reporting does not establish a separate, detailed assessment from him of agents’ accuracy.
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Amazon’s ad revenue was $19.6 billion, compared with an analyst estimate of $20.82 billion—a shortfall of about $1.22 billion.
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1 Amazon’s earnings-call transcript lists year-over-year ad growth at 12%, while another report gives 11%; the supplied sources do not resolve that difference.
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The company also pointed to timing factors behind the slower ad growth, including moving Prime Day into the second quarter in most countries and the timing of NBA games on Prime Video.
10 That provides context for the quarter, but does not establish that timing alone explains the gap against estimates.
Amazon’s overall sales and Alexa shopping figures
Amazon reported third-quarter net sales of $201.9 billion, up 12% from $180.2 billion a year earlier. Sales were slightly below the $202.31 billion analyst estimate.
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On the call, Amazon said more than 400 million customers had used Alexa for Shopping in the previous 12 months, with customer interactions up 570% year over year.
15 Amazon also said U.S. customers who use Alexa for Shopping spend 50% more per order than those who do not.
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Those figures describe Amazon’s own shopping assistant. The supplied sources do not provide enough detail to verify what the newly launched Amazon Ads Agent offers advertisers, so its features cannot be compared here with outside shopping agents.
Why Amazon blocked Meta’s Muse
Amazon began blocking Meta’s Muse from shopping on its retail site on September 20, after Meta declined Amazon’s request to remove the retailer from the agent’s experience, according to Bloomberg.
30 Amazon said Meta had not told it Muse would access the store and that the agent did not identify itself while browsing.
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Amazon also raised concerns that Muse appeared to capture and store customer credentials. That is Amazon’s allegation, not an independently established finding in the available reporting. Meta said Muse has no visibility into users’ passwords or payment details.
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People attempting to use Muse on Amazon saw a notice saying, “Continued access by an unauthorized AI agent violates Amazon’s Conditions of Use, to which our customers have agreed.”
38 Amazon’s stated position is that agents should operate openly and respect a service provider’s decision about whether to allow them.
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What the reporting does—and doesn’t—establish
The sources support a contrast between Amazon’s restrictions on Muse and reported efforts by other retailers to work with approved shopping agents. They do not provide enough reliable detail to assess the specific roles of Shopify, Walmart and Best Buy side by side.
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The clearest takeaway from the earnings call is narrower: Jassy said outside shopping agents had not become a meaningful advertising threat, citing limited use and a shopping experience he viewed as less convenient than going directly to a retailer. The quarter’s ad miss is documented, but the available sources do not show that third-party agents caused it.
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