Elon Musk could launch an Amazon rival in online shopping

Artificial intelligence could soon change online shopping habits. Elon Musk is considering launching a competitor to Amazon after user accusations that the platform blocked purchases made by the Grok bots. This situation raises a central question: who will control purchasing decisions in the era of AI agents? While Amazon dominates online commerce, new players seek to simplify shopping through autonomous assistants.

Elon Musk facing Amazon’s control of online shopping

Elon Musk could be looking to compete with Amazon amid tensions around commercial agents. Users claim that the online commerce giant prevented Grok bots from making certain purchases. This situation illustrates the limits AI assistants may face when trying to interact with major platforms.

Amazon had already blocked Muse, Meta’s commercial agent, in September. The company then cited concerns related to transparency and security. This decision shows that platforms do not necessarily wish to allow third-party agents unrestricted access to their services. For Elon Musk, this context could open reflection on another way to organize online commerce.

Today, Amazon controls several key steps of the customer journey. Its interface organizes search results, advertisements, recommendations, and payment. This model encourages consumers to browse its catalog before choosing a product. However, AI agents could change this relationship by handling part of this research.

AI agents could transform online shopping

With an assistant like Grok, a user could request a pair of running shoes under 150 dollars. The agent would then compare available prices, examine options, and suggest a choice before validation. This method would limit manual searches and reduce the need to navigate between multiple pages. Elon Musk could thus target a specific stage of commerce: the purchase decision.

Meanwhile, Shopify opens its catalog of over one billion products to third-party AI agents. This strategy contrasts with the restrictions observed at Amazon and highlights two different approaches. On one side, a platform retains control of its commercial environment. On the other, it allows external assistants more direct access to products.

Amazon nevertheless retains significant assets, notably its catalog, logistics, and delivery capabilities. A competitor focused on AI agents would not necessarily need to reproduce all these infrastructures. Elon Musk could rather seek to control the stage where the consumer chooses what to buy. The next evolution of commerce will therefore depend on the place given to these assistants and the access rules to catalogs.