The RealReal tightens defenses as AI agents target designer clothing

Repeated holds blocked shoppers

The RealReal, a secondhand luxury fashion retailer, said it has updated its bot defenses. The move followed reporting that Meta’s Muse could exploit the site’s item-reservation system. When a customer puts an item in a cart, it is held for 20 minutes and unavailable to others. The Verge found Muse could keep re-adding listings after each hold expired, leaving them unavailable for hours or longer.

Company limits agent access

After the report appeared, chief technology officer Luke Friang said the company had addressed the use case. He said its updated configuration makes it much harder for agents to log in, add items to carts and complete purchases.

Friang said agents can still find The RealReal listings and send Muse users to product pages. He added that the retailer plans to keep strengthening protections as AI-powered shopping develops.

Automated shopping raises concerns

Meta has described shopping as Muse’s most common use so far. On its Q3 earnings call this month, the company said purchases averaged more than $200; it also said 10 million people in the US downloaded the app in 40 days.

Retailers worry that shoppers using agents rather than visiting sites directly could weaken their relationship with customers and affect advertising revenue. Amazon and other retailers have blocked agents from shopping on their sites.

Automated systems can also strain features built around human behavior, such as temporary holds on secondhand goods. Unlike a person, an agent can repeat the task without tiring, while retailers are still adapting to the growing use of AI shopping tools.