{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-11-07T02:11:48.907Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"retail","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"2025","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":2,"coverage":{"cases":2,"countries":1,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":2,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2025-mochi-owner-reports-amazon-buy-for-me-orders-partner-distrust","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"Using agentic AI capabilities, Amazon makes the purchase by securely providing the customer’s encrypted name, address, and payment details to complete the checkout process on the brand’s website.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Amazon Nova and Anthropic’s Claude models support the Amazon Shopping app’s agentic capabilities to complete the purchase from start to finish on a customer’s behalf.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Buy for Me is currently live in the Amazon Shopping app on both iOS and Android for a subset of U.S. customers.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Amazon's announcement states that Buy for Me uses agentic AI to make a purchase on a brand's website on the customer's behalf, providing the customer’s encrypted name, address and payment details to complete the checkout, and that the feature was live for a subset of U.S. customers.","causal_attribution":"Directly established by Amazon's own published description of the feature. It documents the design Amazon describes, not what happened at this merchant's store."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"hadn’t heard of “Buy For Me” until she watched a viral video","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"the video has garnered nearly 16,000 likes since it was posted on Dec. 28.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"which is when she realized that her product catalog of 4,000 products was available for sale on the e-commerce company’s marketplace.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"“We’ve not wanted to sell on Amazon on purpose, and so seeing our stuff on there was surprising and very frustrating,”","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The owner said she had not heard of Buy for Me until she watched another merchant's viral video about it (posted on 28 December), searched for her brand on Amazon and found her catalogue of 4,000 products for sale there, although the brand had deliberately avoided selling on Amazon.","causal_attribution":"The owner's account to Modern Retail. How the catalogue came to be listed is not described as an AI act in either source."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"has received around 16 orders through “Buy For Me” since November, fulfilling some of those orders before realizing the purchases were coming from Amazon.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"has been canceling all “Buy For Me” orders and plans to email Amazon to opt out.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The owner said she had received around 16 orders through Buy for Me since November, fulfilled some of them before realising the purchases were coming from Amazon, and has since been cancelling all Buy for Me orders; she planned to email Amazon to opt out.","causal_attribution":"The owner's account relayed by one outlet. The orders are described as placed through Buy for Me, which Amazon's announcement says its AI agent completes on the brand's website; Modern Retail does not describe inspecting the orders."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"one of Mochi Kids’s wholesale partners — an independent brand that explicitly does not allow its products to be sold on Amazon — contacted the retailer after discovering its products listed on the marketplace. Mochi Kids had to reassure the brand that it had not intentionally listed the items on Amazon","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"“It builds distrust,”","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"One of the brand's wholesale partners, an independent brand that does not allow its products to be sold on Amazon, contacted the retailer after discovering its products listed on the marketplace, and the retailer had to reassure it that it had not intentionally listed them; the owner said “It builds distrust.”","causal_attribution":"Reported by Modern Retail from the merchant's account. The partner's concern followed the marketplace listing, which neither source attributes to AI; the strain is attributed to the listing, not to an agent-placed order."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"We have received positive feedback on these programs,","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"and we remove them from these programs promptly.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Businesses can opt out at any time by emailing","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"may modify these for display on the Amazon Shopping app.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"All product information, such as description, images, pricing and ratings, comes from merchant sites, according to Amazon’s FAQ page.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Amazon told Modern Retail that businesses can opt out at any time by email and are removed promptly, that it had received positive feedback on the programmes, and its FAQ says product information comes from merchant sites, which Amazon may modify for display.","causal_attribution":"Amazon's own statements as relayed by Modern Retail; they do not address this merchant specifically."}],"effects":[{"label":"Owner-reported agent-placed orders fulfilled before she knew their source, and cancellation of all such orders","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"Owner-reported wholesale partner challenge over the listings and stated distrust","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"},{"label":"Owner-reported loss of choice about selling through Amazon","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.modernretail.co/technology/brands-are-upset-that-buy-for-me-is-featuring-their-products-on-amazon-without-permission/","kind":"journalistic","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"modern-retail-merchant-interviews"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/retail/amazon-shopping-app-buy-for-me-brands","kind":"official_statement","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"amazon-buy-for-me-announcement"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["work","finance"],"unknowns":["The date of the first Buy for Me order at her store, the cost of fulfilling and cancelling orders and any net financial loss are not reported.","Whether she completed the opt-out, and whether the wholesale partner relationship changed beyond the challenge, are not reported.","How her catalogue came to be listed on Amazon, and whether that listing step involved AI generation, is not established; Amazon's FAQ says product information comes from merchant sites."],"geography":{"basis":"Modern Retail describes the brand as based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the agent-placed orders reached her own store through Buy for Me; Amazon's announcement says the feature is live for a subset of U.S. customers. The event and the affected person are therefore in the United States. No court is involved.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Modern Retail's merchant interview and Amazon's announcement were read in full on 2026-10-11. Amazon's description establishes that Buy for Me's AI agent completes checkouts on brand websites, and the owner reports concrete agent-placed orders through her store that she fulfilled before learning their source and then cancelled. Her account is attributed and left at reported; the partner's challenge is tied to the marketplace listing, which is not attributed to AI; Amazon's opt-out and feedback statements are preserved.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-11"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Amazon's announcement states that Buy for Me uses agentic AI to complete the checkout on the brand's website on the customer's behalf. The owner reports around 16 orders through Buy for Me since November, some of which she fulfilled before realising they came from Amazon, and that she has been cancelling all of them. The agent's submission of these orders through her store is the AI activity connected to the fulfilment and cancellation work. The appearance of her catalogue on Amazon, which prompted the wholesale partner's challenge, is not established as an AI act.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Mochi Kids owner says Amazon's Buy for Me agent sent orders she fulfilled before realising their source, and a wholesale partner questioned the listings","summary":"The owner of Mochi Kids, a children's apparel brand that has deliberately avoided selling on Amazon, told Modern Retail that she found her catalogue of 4,000 products for sale on Amazon through the Buy for Me feature after watching another merchant's viral video posted on 28 December. Amazon's announcement says Buy for Me uses agentic AI to complete purchases on a brand's website on a customer's behalf. She said she had received around 16 Buy for Me orders since November, fulfilled some of them before realising they came from Amazon, and has been cancelling all such orders; she planned to email Amazon to opt out. Modern Retail reports that one of the brand's wholesale partners, which bars Amazon sales of its products, contacted the retailer after finding its products listed, and that the retailer had to reassure it that it had not listed them intentionally; the owner said it builds distrust. Amazon says businesses can opt out by email and are removed promptly, and that it had received positive feedback on the programmes. No net financial loss or lost contract is reported.","incidentDate":"2025-11-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-01-06","aiSystem":"Amazon Buy for Me shopping agent","aiProduct":"Amazon Buy for Me","aiCompany":"Amazon","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["professional_harm","loss_of_autonomy"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Owner-reported agent-placed orders fulfilled before she knew their source, ongoing cancellation work, a wholesale partner's challenge over the listings, and loss of control over where her catalogue is sold","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"One interviewed business owner describes the orders, cancellation work and the partner's challenge. Orders, products, likes and customers are not counts of harmed people; the unnamed wholesale partner is not separately counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"agent","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.modernretail.co/technology/brands-are-upset-that-buy-for-me-is-featuring-their-products-on-amazon-without-permission/","primarySourceLabel":"Modern Retail, 6 January 2026: Brands are upset that 'Buy For Me' is featuring their products on Amazon without permission (Allison Smith)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-30T01:11:49.060335+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-11T03:10:33.859316+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["historical-2025"]},{"id":"2025-bobo-owner-reports-unwanted-amazon-buy-for-me-orders","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"Using agentic AI capabilities, Amazon makes the purchase by securely providing the customer’s encrypted name, address, and payment details to complete the checkout process on the brand’s website.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Amazon Nova and Anthropic’s Claude models support the Amazon Shopping app’s agentic capabilities to complete the purchase from start to finish on a customer’s behalf.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"brands have the choice if they want to participate and benefit from the increased brand visibility, customer engagement, and sales.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Amazon's announcement states that Buy for Me uses agentic AI to make a purchase on a brand's website on the customer's behalf, providing the customer’s encrypted name, address and payment details to complete the checkout.","causal_attribution":"Directly established by Amazon's own published description of the feature. It documents the design Amazon describes, not what happened in this merchant's store."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"she was shocked when, in late December, she discovered that her product catalog was available for sale on Amazon’s marketplace.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"a slew of unusual orders from an email address titled @buyforme.amazon. Many of the orders were for products that the brand no longer sold or were out of stock.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"“They just opted us into this program that we had no idea existed and essentially turned us into drop shippers for them, against our will,”","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The owner said that in late December 2025 she noticed a series of unusual orders from an @buyforme.amazon email address, many for products the brand no longer sold or had out of stock, discovered that her catalogue was for sale on Amazon, and said she had never opted into Buy for Me.","causal_attribution":"The owner's account to Modern Retail. Her statement that she never opted in is her own; Amazon's statement does not address her store specifically."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"to be fulfilled through","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"also received at least several orders for products that were either out of stock or no longer existed on her website.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"She said she canceled several of those purchases and issued refunds after realizing Amazon had enabled customers to order items that had been fully removed from her online store.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The owner said Buy for Me orders for her products were placed on Amazon.com to be fulfilled through her Shopify account, that she received at least several orders for products that were out of stock or no longer existed on her website, and that she cancelled several of those purchases and issued refunds.","causal_attribution":"The owner's account relayed by one outlet. The orders are described as placed through Buy for Me, which Amazon's announcement says its AI agent completes on the brand's website; Modern Retail does not describe inspecting the orders itself."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"to opt out, per the company’s FAQ page for sellers","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"remnants of her products remained on Amazon in the form of incomplete “shell” listings.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"We have received positive feedback on these programs,","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"and we remove them from these programs promptly.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The owner contacted Amazon to opt out and her products were removed, although she said incomplete shell listings with jumbled titles remained; Amazon told Modern Retail that businesses can opt out at any time by email and are removed promptly, and that it had received positive feedback on the programme.","causal_attribution":"The removal and shell listings are the owner's account; the opt-out policy and positive-feedback statement are Amazon's own to Modern Retail."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"erroneously displayed a photo of a pair of pants, a product that","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"It’s unclear where the image came from, but Amazon says it doesn’t generate AI images of a brand’s products.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"All product information, such as description, images, pricing and ratings, comes from merchant sites, according to Amazon’s FAQ page.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"One of the owner's products listed through Buy for Me, a vinyl sticker, showed a photo of a pair of pants that she has never sold; the image's origin is unclear and Amazon says it does not generate AI images of a brand's products.","causal_attribution":"Reported by the owner and Modern Retail; the wrong image is not attributed to AI generation and is recorded as an unexplained listing error."}],"effects":[{"label":"Owner-reported unwanted agent-placed orders for unavailable products, cancellation work and refunds","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"Owner-reported loss of control over where her catalogue is sold and lingering shell listings","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.modernretail.co/technology/brands-are-upset-that-buy-for-me-is-featuring-their-products-on-amazon-without-permission/","kind":"journalistic","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"modern-retail-merchant-interviews"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/retail/amazon-shopping-app-buy-for-me-brands","kind":"official_statement","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"amazon-buy-for-me-announcement"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["work","finance"],"unknowns":["The date of the first Buy for Me order at her store, the number of orders, the total administrative cost and any net financial loss are not reported.","How her catalogue came to be listed (Amazon's FAQ says product information comes from merchant sites) and whether that listing step involved AI generation is not established; the wrong stock image is not attributed to AI.","The owner's Instagram video of 28 December 2025 and her self-reporting survey were not inspected; the survey's 145 responses are not counts of harmed people.","The agent acted for Amazon customers, not for the owner; the only relation recorded is the agent's completion of orders through her store's checkout."],"geography":{"basis":"Modern Retail describes the brand as based in Palm Springs, California, and the orders were fulfilled through her own store, so the event and the affected person are in the United States. No court is involved.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Modern Retail's merchant interview and Amazon's announcement were read in full on 2026-10-08. Amazon's own description establishes that Buy for Me's AI agent completes checkouts on brand websites, and the owner reports concrete agent-placed orders through her store, including orders for removed products that she had to cancel and refund. Her account is attributed and left at reported; Amazon's opt-out statement and its denial of AI-generated images are preserved; counts, dates and the origin of the listing are kept unknown.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-08"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Amazon's announcement states that Buy for Me uses agentic AI to complete the checkout on the brand's website on the customer's behalf. The owner reports that orders from an @buyforme.amazon address arrived at her store, several for products that were out of stock or removed, and that she cancelled those purchases and issued refunds. The agent's completion of checkouts for unavailable products is the AI activity connected to the cancellation and refund work; the appearance of her catalogue on Amazon and the wrong stock image are not established as AI acts.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Bobo Design Studio owner says Amazon's Buy for Me agent placed unwanted orders through her store without opt-in, forcing cancellations and refunds","summary":"The owner of Bobo Design Studio, a stationery brand that sells through its own Shopify store and has avoided Amazon, told Modern Retail that in late December 2025 she noticed a series of unusual orders from an @buyforme.amazon email address and discovered that her catalogue was listed for sale on Amazon through the Buy for Me feature, which she says she never opted into. Amazon's announcement says Buy for Me uses agentic AI to complete purchases on a brand's website on a customer's behalf. She said several orders were for products that were out of stock or no longer existed on her website, and that she cancelled several of those purchases and issued refunds. She contacted Amazon to opt out; Amazon says businesses can opt out by email and are removed promptly, and said it had received positive feedback on the programme. One listing showed a wrong stock image; Amazon says it does not generate AI images of a brand's products and the image's origin is unknown.","incidentDate":"2025-12-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-01-06","aiSystem":"Amazon Buy for Me shopping agent","aiProduct":"Amazon Buy for Me","aiCompany":"Amazon","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["professional_harm","loss_of_autonomy"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Owner-reported unwanted agent-placed orders for unavailable products, cancellation and refund work, and loss of control over where her catalogue is sold","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"One interviewed business owner describes the operational burden and loss of control. Orders, products, survey replies and customers are not counts of harmed people.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"agent","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.modernretail.co/technology/brands-are-upset-that-buy-for-me-is-featuring-their-products-on-amazon-without-permission/","primarySourceLabel":"Modern Retail, 6 January 2026: Brands are upset that 'Buy For Me' is featuring their products on Amazon without permission (Allison Smith)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-30T01:11:45.802533+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-08T03:21:59.094999+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["historical-2025"]}]}