What is Agentic Commerce?

Agentic commerce represents a revolutionary development in the relationship between artificial intelligence and retail, moving beyond the capabilities of AI tools like chatbots and recommendation systems. It introduces a new paradigm where AI agents don't wait for user commands but act as proactive, autonomous decision-makers capable of performing complex tasks with minimal human intervention. Unlike previous AI systems that excelled at handling isolated tasks, AI shopping agents can seamlessly execute intelligent sequences of actions to achieve more complex goals. Instead of just recommending products based on past purchases, an agent can manage an entire shopping process, from finding a product and comparing options across multiple retailers to evaluating shipping conditions and discounts, and placing the order—all from a single user request.

Both consumer and commercial AI agents operate based on contextual intelligence, analyzing massive datasets in real time, adapting to changing circumstances, and optimizing their decision-making based on continuous feedback. These systems are designed to mimic human thinking on a large scale, whether by recognizing a shopper's unique preferences, predicting needs, or reacting dynamically to new information. Commercial AI agents can dynamically reshape and reconfigure a web store's layout to highlight the most relevant products, providing a personalized shopping experience that evolves organically in real time. This adaptability goes beyond traditional recommendation systems, offering intuitive and seamless hyper-personalization.

AI Agents: Hype or Trend?

According to the 2025 Gartner AI Hype Cycle, AI agents are in the "Peak of Inflated Expectations" phase. This phase is typically built on initial public successes and significant media hype but still lacks sustainably viable, commercially proven solutions. Gartner predicts that by 2027, half of all consumers will use AI assistants. Some analyses suggest that consumers are already satisfied with the technology, with a quarter of Americans regularly using chatbots while shopping. In the retail sector, two-thirds of retailers using AI-based agents report significant revenue growth due to personalized shopping experiences. The CEO of PayPal, Alex Chriss, recently predicted that by 2030, 25% of e-commerce will be driven by AI agents. While this sounds like a lot, it is only about 4% of total retail sales when calculated from the current base (25% of 20% of retail sales). However, for players with a strong e-commerce presence, the potential loss of 25% of digital traffic could be a severe blow. The most vulnerable retailers are those who rely on digital discovery and conversion. The ones best positioned are those with a strong physical presence, appealing loyalty programs, and a unique product selection that cannot be easily copied.

Agentic Shopping: A Consumer Revolution
For consumers, agentic shopping promises a dramatic transformation: an integrated, streamlined experience. Here's what this means in practice:

Predicting needs: AI agents can predict what a customer will need based on their purchase history, browsing habits, and predictable future events.

Autonomous shopping action sequences: From finding products to placing orders, AI agents manage the entire process without needing repeated requests.

Hyper-personalization: AI agents provide recommendations that adapt not only to personal shopper preferences but also to real-time factors (e.g., seasonal changes or trends).

Proactive assistance: AI agents also handle tasks like renewing subscriptions, scheduling appointments, or managing returns.

Informed choice: AI agents synthesize public reviews, influencer ratings, and expert content to ensure shoppers receive the best advice during the commercial process.

Agentic Commerce: Where Efficiency Meets Insights

Agentic commerce also brings a fundamental change for retailers, providing tools for dynamically optimizing operations, enhancing customer engagement, and keeping pace with market trends.

Operational efficiency: AI agents can automate routine processes like inventory management, price optimization, and product substitutions.

Customer insights: By analyzing large datasets, AI agents provide deep insights into customer preferences, habits, and changing trends.

Effective marketing: Instead of broad, general campaigns, AI agents enable personalized outreach, delivering the right messages to the right customers at the right time.

Increased customer satisfaction: By providing proactive support, from handling returns to answering questions, agents enhance the customer experience.

The future of shopping has arrived, and it's intelligent, proactive, and agentic.

Does Agentic Commerce Pose a Threat to Retail Media?

To understand the threat AI poses to retail media, we need to consider how retailers make money from advertising.

On-site advertising: On digital surfaces used by consumers: websites, web stores, applications, and search results. Brands pay a premium to appear where shoppers are actively making purchasing decisions. This is the main revenue source for retail media owners and networks, from sponsored products to banner ads.

Off-site advertising: Retailers and data aggregators monetize their transactional and audience data in partnership with online publishers and sales houses. Ads appear on external media surfaces, where the retailer's data ensures precise targeting.

In-store advertising: The old-school stuff—physical in-store signage, flyers, audio and video ads, shelf money, etc.. Ironically, these traditional formats might be the safest from the upheaval caused by AI.

Agentic shopping poses a threat to retail media because it fundamentally changes the consumer journey, shifting the focus from discovery to automated efficiency. The traditional retail media model relies on capturing a consumer's attention on a retailer's platform, but AI-based shopping agents are designed to circumvent this process.