RealReal Blocks AI Agents From Locking Up Designer Items

Shoppers at The RealReal can no longer have AI agents hold designer items in their carts for extended periods. The secondhand luxury retailer updated its bot defense system to make it harder for automated programs to complete purchases.

The RealReal changed its rules after The Verge published a report on October 23. That story detailed how users could instruct Meta’s Muse app to continuously re-add specific listings to a shopping cart. On The RealReal’s site, an item is unavailable to other customers for 20 minutes once it is placed in a cart. The Muse agent bypassed this limit by re-adding the item immediately after the hold expired. This action blocked other buyers from purchasing the product for hours or longer.

Luke Friang, chief technology officer at The RealReal, confirmed the changes in an email sent after the report went live. He stated that the company addressed the specific use case identified by the testing. The new configuration makes it much more difficult for agents to log in, add items to carts, and check out. Friang noted that agents can still surface listings and direct users to product pages. The company plans to continue strengthening protections as AI shopping evolves.

Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the findings. The issue arises as technology companies market agents as personal assistants for daily tasks. Meta told investors during its Q3 earnings call this month that shopping is the most common use case for Muse. The company said average purchases through the agent exceeded $200. Meta also reported that 10 million people in the United States downloaded the app in 40 days.

Retailers are adjusting their strategies as AI agents gain traction. Amazon has blocked agents from shopping on its site to protect advertising revenue. The RealReal’s move addresses a specific vulnerability in its reserve system. A human shopper would rarely re-add an item to a cart every 20 minutes for hours, but an automated agent performs this task without fatigue. This capability allows consumers to secure high-demand inventory through software rather than manual effort.

The RealReal serves as a test case for how traditional e-commerce platforms handle automated buyers. The company’s inventory consists of unique, one-of-a-kind items rather than mass-produced goods. This makes the 20-minute hold system critical for fair access. By restricting agent access to the checkout process, The RealReal aims to restore balance between human and automated shoppers on its platform.