Staying visible, chosen and trusted as agents reshape commerce and customer relationships. Digital commerce never lived up to its promise. Yes, it increased choice and made buying easier. But consumers got overwhelmed by options and information, and now often struggle to make decisions. Brands are absorbing the cost in abandoned carts, high return rates, eroding margins and non-stop spending to reacquire the same customers.

Agentic commerce flips that model. AI agents can now compare products, read the fine print, choose a winner, complete a purchase and manage delivery and returns—all autonomously, on a customer’s behalf. The long-held understanding of who makes buying decisions, and when, and how, is changing fast.

Changing behaviours: What the data show

90% of frequent AI users in North America say they’d be open to switching away from a previously preferred brand if their AI assistant offered a better alternative.

Up to 45% of shoppers are expected to shift at least half of their commerce activities into agent-mediated ecosystems in the next two years.

25% of executives say that in three years, AI agents will be their number one audience for content, surpassing even search engines.

In brief

• Agentic commerce isn’t just another channel or type of influencer, it’s a generational reset of who—and what—selects and buys products.
• Brands now have two audiences in commerce: the person and the agent acting on that person’s behalf.
• Brands that optimize their offerings for people and AI agents will grow; those that don’t risk becoming invisible to agents.