Tipsheet: eBay Blocks AI Agents, And Retailers Split On Letting Them Shop

Tipsheet's John Ebbert flags a Wall Street Journal piece by Patrick Coffee on retailers' divergent approaches to AI shopping agents, with consumer demand still uncertain. eBay "blocks any agents that don't have explicit permission to browse or shop its site, because the company doesn't trust all AI to navigate the nuances of buying handmade and pre-owned items"; Kate Spade and Coach let agents browse but block them from shopping over bot-driven fraud concerns, while parent Tapestry is designing its framework to optimise for agents if the strategy changes. QVC is the opposite, proactively sending its catalogues to OpenAI, Google and Microsoft so their agents know its products. Emarketer analyst Sky Canaves warned retailers not to overreach: "consumers still like to make their decisions themselves and be in charge, especially where money is concerned."