AI agents are coming to the checkout – a new era in online commerce

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 12. 01. 11:04

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Artificial intelligence has added a new player to digital commerce: so-called AI-based purchasing agents have appeared, which research, recommend and even place orders on behalf of users. According to a recent analysis by Morgan Stanley, this technology could appear in the everyday lives of nearly half of American online shoppers by 2030 and could increase e-commerce spending by up to $115 billion.

The decision is no longer the customer’s – but the algorithm’s

The essence of the model, which is spreading as “agentic commerce”, is that the system maps the customer’s needs using machine learning and then automatically handles all stages of the customer journey:

product research and comparison
compose cart
order and feedback

This change could fundamentally reorganize the e-commerce value chain, especially in terms of digital marketing and competition between retailers: the algorithm will decide which brands will reach the “visible shelf”.

Tech giants are already competing

The largest players in the retail sector have started a development race:

Character	AI Assistant Name	Feature
Amazon	Rufus	personalized recommendations, cart building, significant upsell potential
Walmart	Sparky	automate daily shopping
Target	ChatGPT-based assistant	recommendations and order management
Google	Shopping AI Agent	even talk to local stores over the phone

Amazon is moving forward in particular aggressively: Rufus could indirectly contribute more than $700 million to operating income this year, and according to the company’s CEO, the system will generate 10% of its annual revenue. could generate billions of dollars in additional revenue in the future.