Amazon faces 'leader's dilemma' — fight AI shopping bots or join them

Amazon's hesitation to address the rise of AI shopping bots, such as OpenAI's Instant Checkout and Perplexity's Instant Buy, threatens to significantly impact their e-commerce dominance. This development means that website owners must be prepared to handle increased AI bot traffic, potentially disrupting their conversion rates and sales analytics. As AI shopping agents become more prevalent, they may inadvertently skew website metrics, making it challenging for owners to accurately assess their online performance. Moreover, the integration of AI-powered checkout systems could lead to a loss of control over the user experience, potentially affecting customer satisfaction and loyalty. To mitigate these risks, website owners should monitor their traffic patterns closely, identifying and filtering out AI bot traffic to maintain accurate analytics. They should also review and update their llms.txt files to ensure that AI shopping agents are properly managed, preventing unwanted interactions with their e-commerce platforms. Additionally, website owners may need to reassess their content policies and user experience strategies to remain competitive in an AI-driven e-commerce landscape.