What: Amazon’s “Buy For Me” feature has listed independent brands’ products on its marketplace without their consent, raising concerns over brand control and customer experience.

Why it is important: The dispute exposes growing tension between major e-commerce platforms’ AI ambitions and the need for brand consent, trust, and accurate product representation in digital retail environments.

Amazon’s “Buy For Me” feature, launched in 2025, is drawing sharp criticism from small and independent brands who discovered their products had appeared on Amazon without their authorisation, as it enables shoppers to purchase items from third-party websites such as Shopify or WooCommerce directly through the Amazon interface in listings that closely resemble normal Amazon product pages; while Amazon describes the project as a trial to broaden selection and help merchants reach new customers, affected brands like Bobo Design Studio and Mochi Kids argue that automatic inclusion violates their autonomy and damages customer trust, with many sellers reporting unintended orders, inaccurate product images and even listings for discontinued or wholesale-only items that create operational and reputational risks, and although Amazon allows brands to opt out by contacting its support team, merchants insist participation should require active consent before inclusion, saying this approach contrasts sharply with Amazon’s typical partner programmes built on applications or invitations and comes amid Amazon’s intensifying use of artificial intelligence in retail, from assistants like Rufus to tools such as “Auto Buy,” which, while adding efficiency and convenience for consumers, increasingly challenges how brands manage identity, data and direct customer relationships.

IADS Notes: Amazon’s “Buy For Me” feature has intensified industry debate over brand autonomy, data control, and the future of retail consent. As highlighted in January 2026, Amazon’s AI-driven initiatives increasingly bypass explicit brand approval, expanding the platform’s influence over customer journeys and product representation (Forbes, Jan 2026). This shift is not isolated; in April 2025, Amazon’s strategic pivot toward AI-powered shopping agents reflected a broader trend of automating retail experiences and challenging traditional brand relationships (Forbes, Apr 2025). By September 2025, the rise of agentic commerce was already redefining how brands, retailers, and consumers interact, with AI agents mediating transactions and raising concerns about the erosion of brand identity and growing dependence on tech giants (Journal du Net, Sep 2025). The legal confrontation between Amazon and Perplexity in November 2025 further underscored the competitive and regulatory complexities of automated commerce, emphasising the urgent need for transparency and trust (Forbes, Nov 2025). Meanwhile, Amazon’s expanding dominance is compelling brands to adopt more sophisticated, data-driven strategies to maintain relevance and control in an ecosystem where marketplace reach increasingly comes at the expense of autonomy (Journal du Net, Jan 2026)

Brands are upset that ‘Buy For Me’ is featuring their products on Amazon without permission