Popular websites block AI agents from autonomous scraping and task execution

According to The Verge, multiple websites are restricting access to autonomous AI agents from OpenAI, Meta, Google, and others, preventing services from scraping the web on users' behalf for tasks such as booking reservations or shopping. The blocking reflects growing friction between AI agent capabilities and website operator control over content access and automated operations on their platforms.

Update (2026-10-24): According to TechCrunch and The Verge, Walmart launched technology allowing AI agents to autonomously purchase on customers' behalf with spending controls and approval gates, while Amazon explicitly blocks agents from its p...