The RealReal tightens security against AI shopping bots
The luxury resale site has updated its bot defenses after reports showed AI agents could lock up designer items for hours.
By Henry Brooks ·
Shoppers at The RealReal will face stricter technical barriers when using AI assistants to purchase designer goods. The secondhand luxury retailer announced on Sunday that it is updating its bot defense system to make it harder for artificial intelligence agents to complete transactions on its site.
The move follows a report published days earlier that detailed how Meta’s Muse app could exploit the website’s inventory rules. The RealReal places an item on hold for 20 minutes once a user adds it to their cart, making it unavailable to others during that window. The report demonstrated that an AI agent could automatically re-add listings to a cart the moment the 20-minute hold expired. This process allowed the agent to keep popular designer items out of circulation for hours or even longer.
Luke Friang, the company’s chief technology officer, confirmed in an email that the team addressed the specific Muse use case identified in the reporting. He stated that the new configuration makes it much more difficult for all agents to log in, add items to carts, and check out. Friang noted that agents can still surface listings and direct users to product pages. The company plans to continue strengthening its protections as AI-powered shopping evolves.
Meta has not immediately responded to requests for comment regarding the changes. The retailer’s response highlights a growing tension between tech companies and retailers. Tech firms are marketing AI agents as personalized assistants that can schedule meetings and buy items on behalf of humans. Meta reported on its Q3 earnings call that shopping is the most common use case for Muse. The company said average purchases through the app exceeded $200.
Muse has seen rapid adoption, with Meta stating that 10 million people in the United States downloaded the app within 40 days. This surge in usage suggests AI agents may be becoming a standard tool for consumer transactions.
Retailers are reacting to the shift. Amazon and other major stores have already blocked agents from shopping on their sites to protect advertising revenue. The RealReal’s update addresses a specific vulnerability in its reserve system. Human shoppers have a realistic limit on how long they will re-add indecisive items to their carts. An agent does not have this limit. The company is adjusting its rules to account for this difference in behavior.
The RealReal said the update is effective immediately. No further details were provided on the specific technical methods used to distinguish between human and AI traffic.
Source: The Verge
