The RealReal won’t let AI agents hog designer clothing

AI Summary

The RealReal is strengthening its bot defenses to prevent AI agents from repeatedly placing designer items on temporary hold and blocking other shoppers. The move follows a report demonstrating how Meta’s Muse agent could exploit the retailer’s 20-minute cart reservation system.

The RealReal, a secondhand luxury fashion consignment retailer, said it's updating its bot defense system, effectively making it harder for AI agents to shop on its site. The change comes days after The Verge reported that an AI agent could be used to take advantage of The RealReal's item reserve system. On the retailer's website, an item goes "on hold" and is unavailable for other customers to buy for 20 minutes once it's placed in a user's shopping cart. Using Meta's Muse, The Verge was able to instruct the AI agent to continuously re-add The RealReal listings in a shopping cart as soon as the 20-minute hold had expired, effectively block … Read the full story at The Verge.