How Amazon And Walmart’s AI Shopping Agents Are Making It Harder To Find ‘Made In USA’ Products

Made in USA label on the side of an unopened cardboard box with copy space. Manufacturing and economy concept.gettyAt a moment when Google searches for American-made products are at an all-time high—except for ...

July 31, 2026

At a moment when Google searches for American-made products are at an all-time high—except for a brief blip during the 2020 pandemic—a new study out of Columbia Law School’s Center for Law and the Economy found that Walmart and Amazon, the nation’s two largest retailers, suppress “Made in USA” results and even seem to favor third-party imported listing through their agentic AI search engines.

In a series of controlled experiments, researchers found that Amazon’s Alexa and Walmart’s Sparky shopping agents often misidentify “Made in America” product listings and allow suspicious country-of-origin claims to go unflagged. When the chatbots are queried about false product-origin claims, they respond that the behavior reflects a business decision, not a technical limitation.

“This empirical study shows that Amazon and Walmart deploy this sophistication selectively, responding to customer searches for ‘Made in USA’ goods by hiding America-made products while mislabeling imported ones—a tactic that their own AI agents describe as a business choice to promote foreign suppliers,” stated Lina Khan, director of the Columbia Center and former chair of the Federal Trade Commission.

The Center’s senior fellow Erie Meyer added that both retailers’ systems have the data needed to flag mislabeled products but are designed to obscure it. “They can report ‘Made in USA’ fraud on command,” she said. “Hiding it was a choice and it shows the dangers of unregulated agentic shopping.”

Americans Want American-Made Goods

American consumers are sold on domestically produced products. In a November survey among 2,200 adults conducted by Morning Consult in association with the Alliance for American Manufacturing, over 80% said they prefer to buy America-made products over similar imported goods. They cite strengthening the U.S. economy (59%), creating American jobs (59%) and supporting small businesses (50%) as their primary reasons.

And consumers’ preference for “Made in USA” is growing. Compared with last year, half of Americans said they are more likely to purchase products made domestically today. Yet when they try to find American-made goods—especially when shopping online—they run into obstacles, confirming the Columbia Center’s findings.

Some 35% said it is difficult to identify a product's origin when shopping online, and 77% believe online retailers should be required to display country-of-origin labels, just as brick-and-mortar stores do. To find American-made goods, shoppers primarily rely on local independent retailers (39%) and social media (38%).

The business opportunity is clear: major retailers, like Walmart and Amazon, are leaving dollars on the table by not providing more American-made choices or making them easier to find. More than 80% of consumers said they would buy more “Made in USA” products if such products were more widely available at large retailers.

All this points directly to what the Columbia Center’s research uncovered. Walmart and Amazon are erecting artificial barriers to make domestically made products harder to find, and in a twist that defies the established laws of retail, the research suggests the suppression is intentional—not a technical limitation but engineered into the design of the AI shopping agents.

Rigged System

The Center for Law and the Economy study, entitled “Made in America, Hidden by AI” and authored by Meyer and the Center’s program manager Zachary Harris, documents how “Made in USA” claims break down on both the Walmart and Amazon websites—the researchers provide the methodology so individuals can conduct their own tests.

Specifically, the research revealed that both Amazon and Walmart have the technical capability to detect and flag fraudulent “Made in USA” products. Amazon’s Alexa misidentified imported T-shirts—clearly stated imported on the individual product listings—as domestically made in its own promotionally authored comparison charts, while Walmart’s Sparky was able to rate the “Made in USA” claims for technical gear as highly suspicious or credible when asked.

The researchers also found that “Made in USA” fraud appears rampant on both Amazon and Walmart. They found dozens of mislabeled products worth thousands of dollars, noting that the only limiting factor was the time required to find the mislabeled listings, not the availability of examples.

And specific to Amazon, the researchers found Alexa blocks questions about “Made in USA” products while answering equivalent questions about goods sourced in China. When asked to find domestically produced fly-fishing rods, Alexa said it did not have access to that information. However, when asked for “Made in China” fly-fishing rods, Amazon returned a detailed comparison table including prices, rating and brand-origin analysis.

When queried about the discrepancy, Alexa explained that 40% to 50% of Amazon’s active sellers are based in China and filtering for American-made goods “would visibly redirect shoppers away from a large portion of the seller base.”

Amazon disputes the broader conclusions in the Center’s research. “The suggestion that we intentionally withhold country-of-origin information customers is incorrect,” an Amazon spokesperson shared with me. “Country-of-origin information, when available, is currently displayed on product detail pages and we’re continually working to improve Alexa for Shopping’s ability to accurately provide this information.” Walmart did not respond to my request for comment.

Designed To Deceive?

While Amazon and Walmart appear willing to allow falsely labeled products to remain on their platforms, ironically their own AI shopping agents—Alexa and Sparky—reveal the truth about why the behavior is allowed to persist. Both describe the inaction as a business decision, not a technical limitation.

For example, when Walmart’s Sparky is asked why items with suspicious “Made in USA” labels aren’t flagged, it admits there is no technical reason such a validity check shouldn’t exist but calls the “barriers more organizational than technical.”

Pressed further about whether following the labeling laws on made in USA products is a platform priority, Sparky responded that following the law isn’t optional, while it also made an excuse as to why it doesn’t comply.

“Enforcement gaps exist because the legal risk has historically been low—the FTC pursues relatively few cases against retailers (as opposed to manufacturers), so the practical pressure to build proactive compliance systems has been limited,” Sparky stated.

Amazon’s Alexa goes even further. When confronted with falsely labeled “Made in USA” T-shirts presented in its own comparison chart, Amazon disowns the listing.

“The chart incorrectly marking “in USA” as “yes” contradicts the official import designation,” Alexa stated, adding, “Don’t trust that comparison chart—it contains false information. Check each product’s ‘Product information’ section for the accurate Origin field.”

However, even Amazon’s product listings were found to contain false information. A Golden Fox Work Boot was titled “Made in USA,” yet its detailed listings stated it was imported. But Alexa offered “good news” about the quality construction of the work boot: “They compare favorably to higher-priced boots, like Red Wing.” Red Wing boots are officially made in the United States and the brand operates a dedicated Red Wing Shoe Store on Amazon.

One might ask why would Alexa favor a cheaper imported dupe over a higher-priced American-made classic? Alexa provided the answer: “US-based manufacturers are a minority on Amazon’s seller base and their collective lobbying power is limited compared to the volume sellers being protected by inaction.”

Alexa also added that high-volume overseas sellers rely on “origin ambiguity,” and that Amazon has no “internal champion” to change the current system.

Regulatory Reckoning

If Amazon’s claims that it is continually working to improve Alexa’s ability to serve customers with accurate information are valid, this investigative report gives the company ample material to dig deeper into the platform’s AI inner workings.

Ironically, the same systems that obscure origin information also reveal the truth about why the behavior persists—it’s in the best interest of the companies, not the customers. This fact gives law enforcement and regulatory agencies fresh ammunition to take action.

A year ago, the FTC sent warning letters to Amazon and Walmart over false “Made in USA” claims on their platforms and President Trump has directed the FTC to prioritize “Made in USA” enforcement, including on online marketplaces.

Since then, the agency has brought only three enforcement actions against small businesses that received the same warning letter as Amazon and Walmart. The penalties for falsely labeling products were substantial: up to $53,088 per violation per day.

The Center’s report argues that regulators have barely scratched the surface to address the scale of the problem. It urges federal and state enforcement agencies to investigate the conduct uncovered in the report, even potentially holding platform executives legally responsible.

The Center also calls on Congress to hold hearings on agentic AI oversight and consider establishing a federal private right of action, giving consumers and companies the ability to take platforms to court for alleged fraud.

“In the case of ‘Made in USA’ fraud, despite more than 100 years of authority from Congress and endless speeches from officials, federal enforcers have consistently failed to act and the domestic economy has experienced irreparable harm,” the report authors concluded. “The public needs the right to defend itself, especially when the government has the authority but not the will to act against powerful companies.”