Editorial
As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes the consumer discovery and buying journey, most retail leaders are struggling to formulate an effective response. The traditional ecommerce playbook merchandising tactics centered around a search bar and pages of item responses is "about to change," according to Walmart CEO Doug McMillon.
Today, shopping journeys are increasingly being initiated with powerful AI chatbots and assistants like ChatGPT and Gemini, rendering time-honored marketing strategies like search marketing far less effective. It's the rise of agentic commerce, an era where AI doesn't just help shoppers find products but actively helps shoppers buy them.
When consumers ask an AI shopping agent for recommendations, such as "best running shoes under $100" or “gifts for a ceramics lover,” they’ll no longer be directed to endless search result pages. Instead, they’ll be presented with a concise, filtered and highly personalized shortlist of options. If a brand is not on that short list, they might as well not exist for that consumer.
The Agentic Shift: Moving Beyond Search
The disruption is accelerating thanks to innovations like OpenAI’s ChatGPT feature that introduces Instant Checkout powered by the Agentic Commerce Protocol (co-developed with Stripe), which enables users to complete purchases directly within the chat interface. This seamless experience allows users to move from conversation to checkout in just a few taps.
Major retailers are leaning into this change, with Walmart announcing a partnership with OpenAI to allow users to buy nearly all its products (excluding fresh food) directly within ChatGPT. Similarly, Etsy’s US sellers and major Shopify merchants such as SKIMS, Spanx and Glossier are integrating with Instant Checkout.
For shoppers, the process is seamless and fast. For brands, however, this narrowing of the traditional shopping funnel presents an existential challenge. When AI offers only a handful of recommendations, the brand that appears on page 19 of search results becomes invisible. In effect, loyalty can no longer be earned in the aisle or at checkout — it must be earned in the algorithm.
To avoid losing to more savvy competitors, retailers must adopt a strategy centered on three core mandates: Be Discoverable, Be Aligned and Be Trusted.
1. Be Discoverable: Make Yourself Machine-Readable
The most critical first step for any retailer is ensuring AI agents can actually find and understand their offerings. AI assistants are picky and will not waste time trying to interpret half-baked product descriptions or broken links.
Accordingly, retailers must ensure their product catalogs are structured, clean and machine-readable. If a retailer lacks the necessary structured data, it's akin to showing up to a job interview in sweatpants: technically present, but unlikely to be selected. AI requires data points that it can translate into value for the customer, such as:
- Competitive pricing
- Availability
- Quality
- Sustainability signals
Making your data discoverable is the prerequisite to even entering the AI’s recommendation shortlist.
Related Article: The Future of Customer Experience Is Built for AI, Not Humans
2. Be Aligned: Strategic Partnerships and User-Centric Value
Once a retailer is discoverable, the next challenge is securing a spot in the top tier of recommendations by demonstrating alignment with the shopper’s best interest. Consumers are keenly aware of the monetization model: they want the agent to work for them, not for itself.
According to a recent consumer report, AI monetization models based on ads erode shopper confidence: 65% of respondents said they find AI recommendations less trustworthy if there are ads. Conversely, three-quarters (75%) of consumers say they would trust AI tools more if they received cashback or a bonus for buying an AI-suggested product.
It's crucial to engage strategically with AI platforms and affiliate partners that offer integrated rewards and loyalty systems that effectively prove the agent is negotiating on the shopper’s behalf. When an AI assistant recommends a product and simultaneously points out, for example, an 8% cashback reward available from a bank partner, the shopper trusts not just the product but the entire system. This practice reinforces loyalty to the brand, the agent and the system providing the value.
The AI assistant amplifies a brand message, ensuring the right product, size and loyalty reward reaches the consumer at the precise moment they need it.
3. Be Trusted: Adapting Payments for Agentic Commerce
Finally, retailers must adapt their systems to handle agent-initiated transactions securely and maintain control of the customer relationship. The rise of Instant Checkout requires flexible payment and fraud systems built for this new interaction model.
OpenAI specifically mentioned that the Agentic Commerce Protocol was built for trust. The protocol’s design ensures that even as the AI facilitates the purchase, the merchant remains the merchant of record, controlling fulfillment, returns, support and communication. Orders, payments and fulfillment are processed using the merchant’s existing backend systems.
Crucially, user control is prioritized: shoppers explicitly confirm every step before an action is taken, and payment security is maintained through encrypted tokens authorized only for specific amounts and merchants. By adopting protocols that ensure both security and merchant control, retailers can safely participate in the agentic commerce future, enabling purchases initiated by an AI without sacrificing customer data or payment integrity.
Related Article: Why AI Agents Are the New Power Players in Online Shopping and Loyalty
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The Competitive Advantage
AI-assisted shopping is moving quickly, but retailers still have time to adapt. Those who invest now to make their data discoverable, their partnerships strategic and their payment systems flexible will avoid being invisible to consumers and their agents. They will secure visibility within the top-tier of recommendations and turn the powerful AI surge into a significant competitive advantage.
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