Some stores now block shopping agents
A Verge reporter showed that Meta Muse could keep re-adding items to a cart on The RealReal every time the 20-minute hold ran out, keeping them away from other shoppers for hours. After the story, The RealReal said it changed its bot defenses, so all agents now find it much harder to log in, add to cart and check out there, though they can still find listings and link to them. The Verge also notes that Amazon blocks agents from shopping on its site.
The lesson: Some stores block agents from checking out, so plan to finish the purchase yourself.
Copy this prompt
Find [ITEM] in [SIZE OR MODEL] under [PRICE] at stores that ship to [ZIP CODE]. If a store blocks you from adding to cart or checking out, don't try to get around it. Just send me the product link so I can buy it myself. Don't hold items in carts you aren't buying.
Our own prompt, written from what the source describes. We haven't run it ourselves. Text in [BRACKETS] is what you replace.
Watch out for
- If a store blocks agents, buy it yourself from the link. Trying to get around a store's bot rules can get your account closed.
Where this comes from
Original post by Mia Sato on The Verge, Oct 26, 2026. We rewrote it in our own words. Check the original for the full context.
Read the original