Category: Customer strategy

  • Who Owns the Customer in the Age of AI Agents?

    Who Owns the Customer in the Age of AI Agents?

    Harvard Business Review Logo

    Illustration by Eliot Wyatt

    AI agents are changing the nature of customer relationships by taking on more of the discovery, comparison, negotiation, and purchasing decisions that companies once controlled through their own

    On September 8, 2026, Meta launched Muse, a personal AI agent designed to act on a user’s behalf: filling out forms, negotiating, booking travel, and making purchases. Twelve days later, Amazon blocked Muse from shopping on its site, arguing that third-party agents should identify themselves and obtain a retailer’s permission before transacting on behalf of its customers.