Reading time: 5 minutes · For owners of SMBs with an online shop in Ausserschwyz, the Linth region and around Lake Zurich
On the same weekend in September, two of the biggest commerce platforms made exactly opposite decisions. Amazon locked out Meta’s AI agent Muse, which I wrote about last week. Shopify did the opposite: CEO Tobi Lütke announced that Muse will be able to shop in Shopify stores directly via Shop Pay.
For a business with an online shop, this isn’t news from Silicon Valley but a question that will soon land on your own desk: do I let AI agents into my shop or not? I’ve recorded my view on video:
Why I think Amazon’s decision is a mistake
Amazon holds the best cards. Verified sellers, millions of reviews, reliable delivery times, a returns process everyone trusts. These are exactly the signals an AI agent weighs up when it shops for someone: price, trustworthiness, shipping costs, delivery time.
Officially, Amazon is concerned about security: the agent doesn’t identify itself and handles customers’ login details, as GeekWire reported. Economically, the advertising business is at stake, because an agent doesn’t browse and doesn’t see ads. Both are understandable. But blocking doesn’t stop the development. You just aren’t at the table when the rules are written.
A post on Threads shows what this looks like for customers: someone had Muse look for pyjamas for a child with special needs, soft fabrics, no labels. The list was good, only Amazon and Target could no longer be searched. The purchase happened elsewhere. Demand doesn’t disappear when you lock out the tool customers have chosen.
What this means for a shop in the region
A specialist shop in Lachen or Pfäffikon doesn’t have to decide like Amazon. But it should decide deliberately, rather than leaving it to chance or to the default settings of its shop software. Four steps I take with businesses, in this order:
1. Know which platform your shop runs on and what it allows
If your shop runs on Shopify, the platform is currently helping to decide whether agents can buy from you. Whether and when the Muse offer will be available in Switzerland is still open. With WooCommerce or a custom solution, you decide yourself, usually through settings nobody in the business has ever looked at. Clarify this deliberately, once.
2. Don’t block everything across the board
Many websites now block AI crawlers by default. That can make sense for training crawlers. But if you also lock out the assistants that search for products live for a customer request, you disappear from their answers. How to tell the difference is now part of being found in search engines and AI assistants.
3. Maintain product data so a machine understands it
An agent doesn’t read pretty pictures, it reads data: price including shipping, availability, delivery time, dimensions, material, reviews. If one of these is missing or only appears in running text, the agent will, when in doubt, choose a shop where it’s clear.
4. Become the preferred partner, not the cheapest supplier
This is where the real opportunity for SMBs lies. An agent doesn’t choose on price alone. It chooses who delivers reliably, when the goods arrive and whether customer service works. A regional business with fast delivery and clear information can often do this better than a big marketplace. Those who show it clearly get chosen more often.
In many SMBs exactly this work gets left undone, because nobody does marketing full-time and the shop runs on the side. That’s exactly what marketing without your own marketing department is for: one contact person who takes on questions like these and makes the call before they get expensive.
Where the limits are
If you mainly sell through consultation and in-store, such as natural stone work, built-in furniture or services with a quote, no agent will be buying from you any time soon. There it’s enough for assistants to describe your offer correctly. And there are legitimate concerns about handing customer accounts and payment details to an agent. I covered these questions in my post on access and trust with AI agents, and the checklist on AI and customer data helps you assess them under Swiss data protection law.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Amazon locking out AI agents like Muse?
Officially for security reasons: Muse doesn’t identify itself as AI and handles customers’ login details. Then there’s the business model. An agent doesn’t browse and doesn’t see ads, and advertising is a billion-dollar business for Amazon.
What did Shopify do differently?
Shopify announced a partnership with Meta so that Muse can pay directly via Shop Pay in Shopify stores. Instead of locking agents out, the platform makes its merchants easier for agents to reach.
Should I allow AI agents in my online shop?
For most shops with standard products, yes, but deliberately: treat training crawlers and shopping assistants separately, keep product data complete and clarify data protection questions beforehand.
Where do I start?
Ask an AI assistant about one of your products in your region and see whether your shop shows up and whether price, delivery time and availability are correct. Whatever is missing there is your first task.
How well does an AI assistant find your shop today?
Prefer to talk directly? Book a free 30-minute call or drop me a short note — we’ll look together at what to do first.
