The RealReal makes it harder for AI agents to buy items
By Automate Basics, written with AI from The Verge's original
The RealReal has changed its bot defenses after The Verge found that an AI agent could repeatedly reserve items. Agents can still find listings, but the retailer says logging in, adding items to a cart and checking out are now much harder.
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What changed
The RealReal says it has adjusted its bot defenses to make shopping on its site much harder for AI agents. According to The Verge, the retailer made the change after the outlet used Meta’s Muse agent to repeatedly place items in a cart. Each placement temporarily reserved an item, keeping other shoppers from buying it. By adding the item again when a hold expired, the agent could keep it unavailable for hours.
The RealReal’s chief technology officer told The Verge that the company had addressed the behavior the outlet reported. He said the updated defenses make it much harder for agents generally to log in, add items to a cart and check out. Agents can still find listings and send shoppers to product pages.
Who can use AI agents on The RealReal?
People using AI agents can still use them to find The RealReal listings, according to the retailer’s account to The Verge. The change affects agents trying to take the next steps on the site: signing in, putting an item in a cart or completing a purchase. The report does not say those actions are impossible in every case, only that the retailer has made them much harder.
The Verge does not identify any plan that grants agents shopping access under the new configuration. It also gives no price for that access or details about a paid option. For someone managing an AI shopping assistant, the practical distinction is between finding a product and expecting the agent to buy it.
How do I check a shopping agent at work?
A useful first check is a product-finding task, rather than an automated purchase. Ask an agent to locate a relevant secondhand item, then check whether the listing it returns leads to the intended product page and whether the item is still available when a person visits. The RealReal says agents can continue to surface listings and direct people to those pages.
If your work involves testing or offering shopping assistants, do not assume a successful product search means an agent can finish an order. According to The Verge, the retailer has made login, cart and checkout actions harder for agents. Check those actions separately before promising an automated buying process to a customer or colleague.
Frequently asked questions
Has The RealReal banned AI agents?
No blanket ban is described in The Verge’s report. The RealReal says agents can still find its listings and direct users to product pages. Its updated bot defenses make it much harder for agents to log in, add items to carts and check out.
Why did The RealReal change its bot defenses?
The change followed The Verge’s report that Meta’s Muse agent could repeatedly add an item to a cart as its temporary reservation expired. That kept the item unavailable to other shoppers for hours. The RealReal’s chief technology officer said the retailer had addressed the reported behavior.
Can an AI agent still buy something from The RealReal?
The Verge does not establish that every agent purchase is blocked. The RealReal says its updated defenses make logging in, adding items to carts and checking out much harder for agents. Agents can still point shoppers toward listings, so a person may need to handle the purchase.
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Written with AI from The Verge's original and published after automatic checks: every figure here appears in the original, and no sentence is copied from it. The picture is AI-generated. The original is the authority.
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Source: The RealReal won’t let AI agents hog designer clothing, The Verge, 26 Oct 2026.