Some of the web's biggest services are refusing to let AI agents act for their users. Delta Air Lines is stopping agents from booking tickets, JPMorgan Chase and Charles Schwab have confirmed they block agents from customer accounts over security concerns, and Yelp told TechCrunch it only allows agents that pay for its data licensing program, The Verge reported on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. Users of xAI's Grok, Meta's Muse, OpenAI's Dots and the startup Instinct have all reported blocks in recent weeks.

Who is blocking what

  • Delta: agents can't book flights for users. Delta said it has no partnership or integration that lets outside agents shop for or book its flights, State of AI reported.
  • JPMorgan Chase: a spokesperson told Fortune the bank doesn't let third-party agents into accounts using a customer's banking credentials, though it still supports customer-approved data sharing through open-banking providers, per State of AI. CEO Jamie Dimon said on the bank's earnings call: "You don't want rogue agents."
  • Charles Schwab: CEO Rick Wurster told Bloomberg Television the firm blocks outside agents, including Muse, from moving client money. "We can't control it, the client can't control it, something could go wrong and who's liable?" he said, as quoted by Dealroom.
  • Yelp: only agents in its paid data licensing program get in.
  • Amazon: it banned Perplexity's shopping agent and sued the startup last year, and said Meta's Muse violates its site policies. Users report Grok, Dots and Instinct can't use Amazon either. Amazon hasn't confirmed it is blocking Grok, State of AI noted.

Users also say Cars.com and Amtrak stopped working with their agents. Neither company has confirmed a policy change, so those remain user reports.

Musk's answer

When an X user posted that "amazon is blocking grok @bots from ordering," Elon Musk replied on Oct. 15: "Maybe we should start a competitor to Amazon 🤔". xAI hasn't announced any such plan.

Why it matters

"Does this impact the perceived value of the Anthropics and the OpenAIs? I would say absolutely," Chris Canal, CEO of AI safety evaluator EquiStamp, told The Verge. He added that general anti-bot defenses also catch agents, even when sites aren't targeting them. The web is splitting into approved integrations and independent agents, Dealroom wrote: Meta has partnered with Walmart, Gap, Sephora and Best Buy, and Shopify has opened its storefronts to agents. Several of the blockers have their own assistants, such as Schwab's Charley and Amazon's Buy for Me, State of AI noted.

Related: our coverage of Rivian opening its cars to third-party AI agents and Anthropic's AI worm warning.