AI agents have a big problem: Nobody wants to let them in
United Airlines has declared that AI agents aren’t welcome in the friendly skies, warning that “sharing account credentials with personal, third-party, AI assistants can expose sensitive information, and actions taken by these tools may result in unintended purchases, account changes, or use of MileagePlus miles.”
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Starting now, United is “taking steps to restrict access — directly within our digital platforms and indirectly via travel agencies and aggregators — to prohibit use by unauthorized, third-party personal AI agents or assistants.”
Beyond the possibility of an AI agent booking tickets by mistake, they may also “violate FAA and DOT regulations,” adding that checking in for a flight “requires human acknowledgement that bags do not contain banned substances,” United Airlines says.
United isn’t the only company cracking down on AI agents, of course. Late last month, Bank of America sent an email to its customers warning against allowing agents to access their banking accounts. “Please remember that your username and password should never be shared with another person or provided to an outside service, including an AI-enabled tool or agent that offers to act on your behalf,” wrote company executive Ashley Ross in the email (as a BofA customer, I received this in my personal inbox).
Bank of America has (for now) stopped short of banning third-party AI agents from logging into customer accounts, but JPMorgan Chase did, as have Charles Schwab and Citigroup.
And it’s not just airlines and banks slamming the doors on AI agents. Amazon has already made headlines for banning Meta’s Muse agent from its site, while Yelp won’t allow agents that haven’t signed up for a paid partnership. The RealReal and eBay have also reportedly turned their backs on personal AI assistants.
