Amazon's own shopping agent hit 400M customers as it blocks rivals' agents
terencemauri · x · 2026-10-31
On Amazon's earnings call, CEO Jassy dismissed external shopping agents as not meaningfully affecting Amazon — while the same call revealed Amazon's own agent reached 400M+ customers in 12 months, interactions up 570%, with US users spending 50% more per order. The Ads Agent now takes a budget and duration and autonomously plans, executes and optimizes campaigns.
The author frames this as classic channel strategy: when a new intermediary appears between you and your customer, own it or keep it out. Amazon does both — blocking Meta's Muse in September and fighting Perplexity's agent in court — while maintaining $220B capex.
Related event: Amazon's Shopping Agent Reaches 400M Users, Outpacing Rivals(2 posts)→
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