Liat Ben-Zur is a technology executive and board director based in the Seattle area. She is the founder and chief executive of LBZ Advisory, a consulting firm for chief executives and boards on AI and product strategy. She was a corporate vice president at Microsoft, where she led consumer services businesses including the Edge browser and Bing, and earlier held senior roles at Royal Philips and Qualcomm. She serves on the boards of Compass Group, Talkspace and Splashtop.
Case
Amazon blocked Meta's Muse AI agent from its store, saying the agent accessed customer accounts without authorization and does not identify itself. Meta disputes Amazon's description of how Muse handles credentials. The block remains in place.
Role at the time: Former Microsoft corporate vice president, in an interview with Fortune
Statement summary
Liat Ben-Zur, a former Microsoft corporate vice president, told Fortune that the standoff is bigger than bot detection or website access, and that the companies controlling the rules of access will have enormous influence over whether AI agents actually work for the consumer.
“This is bigger than a dispute over bot detection or website access. We are moving toward a world where agents will increasingly act as our representatives online. The companies that control the rules of access will have enormous influence over whether those agents actually work for the consumer.”
Ben-Zur identifies what is at stake in Amazon's decision and warns about gatekeeping power, but does not expressly say the block is right or wrong.
Statement dates: September 22, 2026
Statement dates: September 22, 2026
