The RealReal updates bot defense to block AI shopping agents
The RealReal updates its bot defense system after reports showed AI agents like Meta Muse hogging luxury secondhand items in shopping carts for hours.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- The RealReal is updating its bot defense system to make it harder for AI agents to shop on its site.
- The change follows reports that Meta Muse exploited the site's 20-minute cart reserve system.
- The updated configuration restricts AI agents from logging in, adding items, and checking out easily.
- Executives emphasize that protections will continue strengthening alongside AI shopping evolution.
The RealReal, a secondhand luxury fashion consignment retailer, has announced an update to its bot defense system aimed at making it significantly more difficult for AI agents to purchase items directly on its platform. This update arrives in the wake of investigative findings highlighting how automated tools could manipulate the site's inventory reserve mechanics.
Previous reporting by The Verge revealed that Meta Muse could be leveraged to exploit The RealReal's item reserve mechanism. Under the retailer's standard website policy, once an item is placed in a user's shopping cart, it is placed "on hold" and withheld from other prospective buyers for a duration of 20 minutes.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
By utilizing Meta Muse, testing demonstrated that an AI agent could be instructed to continuously loop and re-add listings into a shopping cart right as the 20-minute hold expired. This loophole effectively locked out other human shoppers from purchasing specific designer products for hours or even longer periods of time.
This situation illustrates a broader disruption facing digital commerce as autonomous AI agents transition from theoretical assistants to active market participants. Standard website features built around human limitations, such as temporary cart reservations, are poorly equipped to handle tireless software agents capable of executing repetitive tasks indefinitely without fatigue.
Following publication, Chief Technology Officer Luke Friang stated via email that the company had successfully addressed the specific Muse use case highlighted in the reporting. The RealReal's revised bot configuration now imposes substantial hurdles for all automated agents attempting to log in, add merchandise to carts, and execute checkouts.
Friang clarified, however, that AI agents will retain the ability to surface listings from The RealReal and direct Muse users to specific product pages. He added that the enterprise remains committed to continuously strengthening its defensive safeguards as AI-powered online retail continues to evolve. Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the update.
Source: The Verge
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