Amazon's trial deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) shopping feature in the US is creating a strong wave of opposition from the online retail community.
The feature called "Buy for Me" is said to allow AI to represent users to make purchase transactions with just one touch, but raises many concerns about control, transparency and fair competition.
According to reflections from many retailers on Reddit and Instagram, their products have been copied and listed on Amazon without clear permission.
Some cases even suggest that Amazon's AI system has created virtual products, causing consumers to misunderstand the origin and condition of goods.
CNBC quoted sources as saying that the "Buy for Me" feature also causes inaccurate product listing, including items that are out of stock or have never been sold.
This raises concerns that AI is not reliable enough to automatically handle complex commercial transactions, especially when it involves a third party seller.
In fact, "Buy for Me" is developed based on the "Buy Direct" feature that Amazon announced from February 2025. This feature allows users to view and compare products from external brand websites right on the Amazon platform.
The new step is allowing an AI agent to automatically complete transactions instead of the user, taking Amazon deeper into the AI-controlled shopping model.
This is part of Amazon's long-term strategy to bet on AI agents, which are systems based on large language models (LLM) capable of self-actuation.
Previously, in 2024, Amazon launched the shopping chatbot AI Rufus, which allows product suggestions and search support, but still plays a consulting role instead of directly purchasing.
Negative reactions from retailers show two major problems. First, trade through chatbots and AI agents still faces many barriers, from data accuracy to legal liability.
Not only Amazon, companies like OpenAI, Google or Perplexity are also testing direct shopping in the chatbot interface, but no model has proven long-term stability.
Second, this experiment risks increasing tensions between Amazon and third-party vendors, who currently contribute more than 60% of total sales on the platform.
Amazon has been closely monitored by regulators in many countries, including India, where antitrust agencies have concluded that the company violates competition law by prioritizing certain sellers and products.
Faced with the wave of criticism, Amazon said the trial program received many positive feedbacks and was designed to help customers access non-available products on Amazon, while supporting businesses to expand customer groups. The company affirms that brands can cancel participation at any time.
The controversy takes place in the context of fierce competition for AI agents. In November 2025, Amazon sent a letter requesting Perplexity to stop AI Agent Comet accessing its platform, showing that the battle for data control and access rights in the AI era is becoming increasingly tense.
