Why can't an AI agent check out on my WooCommerce store?
Usually one of five things: a captcha at checkout, checkout that needs an account, a firewall or security plugin that refuses the agent, a field format it cannot fill, or an item out of stock. The Agents tab in Agent Stamp shows which one stopped each agent, what the cart was worth, and the fix.
In our October 2026 check of 66 WooCommerce stores, 29 had a firewall or a checkout captcha that can stop an agent.
An AI agent shops like a fast, careful visitor that cannot solve puzzles or create accounts. It reads the product page, adds to the cart through the page or the WooCommerce cart API, fills in the address and payment it was given, and presses Place order. Anything that asks for a human, or refuses a program, stops it there.
The usual blockers
| Blocker | What the agent sees | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Captcha at checkout | A puzzle it cannot solve | Let verified agents skip it, or set the captcha to skip verified bots |
| Checkout needs an account | A login wall | Turn on guest checkout |
| Firewall or security plugin | A 403, a challenge, or a block page | Allow verified bots and signed agents |
| A strict field | A phone or address format it gets wrong | Loosen the format, or show an example in the field |
| Out of stock | The item it was asked to buy is gone | Keep stock right on the products agents look at |
A store cannot see any of this in its normal reports: the agent leaves no order, and WooCommerce does not log a failed visit. Agent Stamp records each agent from the first page to the order and keeps the reason when the store stops one. The free check shows the blockers anyone can see from outside.