Amazon shutting consumer agent access (Muse, Instinct) is rational but a big mistake, analyst argues
omooretweets · x · 2026-10-06
omooretweets argues Amazon shutting down consumer agent access (now both Muse and Instinct) is both rational and a big mistake.
The rational case: ads are 10% of Amazon revenue but an estimated 50-60% of operating profit, and agent purchases mean fewer eyeballs to monetize; Amazon knows the danger of letting another platform control your distribution — it has done that to many retailers itself; and with 250M habituated Prime subscribers plus a logistics network you can't vibe code, its near-term defensibility is strong.
But he calls it short-sighted: agents are inevitable for Amazon's typical low-consideration, frequent, recurring purchases. Amazon likely won't ship a first-class consumer agent itself, and angering valuable users in the meantime pushes them toward alternatives. Better to keep greenlighting agent traffic (still minimal) and adapt to an agent-first world.
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