Websites are closing their doors to AI agents

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OpenAI, Meta, and Google want AI agents to do everything for you. But popular services on the web aren’t letting that happen.

Autonomous agents are the hottest thing in AI. OpenAI, Meta, Google, Instinct, and others promise their agents can scour the internet on your behalf, doing anything from booking a dinner reservation and cleaning out your inbox to buying new shoes. But what happens when the rest of the internet won’t play nice?

In recent weeks, users of services like Meta’s Muse, xAI’s Grok, OpenAI’s Dots, and Instinct have reported blocks preventing their AI agents from performing tasks across top websites. Yelp told TechCrunch that it only allows AI agents that pay for its data licensing program, while Delta Air Lines is preventing them from booking tickets on behalf of users.

JPMorgan Chase and Charles Schwab have also confirmed that they’re blocking AI agents from accessing accounts due to security concerns. Some users say sites that previously worked with their AI agent are no longer accessible, including Cars.com and Amtrak, suggesting other companies could be quietly blocking them.

Amazon was already fighting off AI agents last year when it banned Perplexity’s agentic shopping feature and sued the AI startup, raising legal and practical questions about the future of agents on the web. At the time, Amazon claimed it “repeatedly requested” that Perplexity stop allowing its AI agents to shop on its website, adding that third-party companies that purchase items on behalf of customers “should operate openly and respect service provider decisions whether or not to participate.”