What Is Agentic Commerce?
Agentic Commerce is a model of digital commerce where AI agents act on behalf of users to discover products, make decisions, and complete purchases, instead of users manually browsing, comparing, and checking out themselves.
In traditional e-commerce, AI mostly plays a supporting role—recommendations, search ranking, or chat assistance. In agentic commerce, AI becomes an active participant in the transaction. The agent doesn’t just suggest options; it can plan, decide, and execute a purchase once the user’s intent and constraints are clear.
How Does it Work?
An AI agent is given:
- Intent (what the user wants)
- Constraints (price limits, preferences, timing, brand rules)
- Permission (what it is allowed to buy and when)
The agent then:
- Searches across products or services
- Evaluates options based on the user’s rules
- Selects the best match
- Completes the purchase using approved payment methods
- Confirms and tracks the order
This can happen in real time (with user confirmation) or asynchronously (the agent acts later when conditions are met).
Why Agentic Commerce Exists Now?
Agentic commerce is emerging because several things are converging. First of all, AI systems can now reason, plan, and take action, not just answer questions. Payments and identity systems are evolving to support delegated, secure transactions. Consumers expect less friction and more automation. Finally, retailers want to capture high-intent demand the moment it appears.
What Changes for ecommerce?
Agentic commerce changes where and how purchases happen. Shopping shifts from websites to conversational and agent-driven interfaces. Checkout becomes embedded in discovery, not a separate step. Retailers compete to be agent-readable and agent-compatible, not just user-friendly.
Examples
- “Buy this jacket in green if it comes back in stock under €200.”
→ The agent monitors inventory and buys automatically when the condition is met. - “Reorder coffee beans every 30 days unless the price increases more than 10%.”
→ The agent manages recurring purchases without user involvement. - “Find the best flight under €500 next month, no overnight layovers.”
→ The agent compares options and books the trip.
In short, agentic commerce turns shopping into a delegated task, where AI agents become trusted intermediaries between consumers and businesses. It’s not about replacing retailers or brands—it’s about changing who does the work of buying.