Artificial intelligence is changing the retail game, and as an entrepreneur, I am watching these shifts closely. The arrival of agentic commerce introduces AI agents capable of handling every stage of the online shopping process, from research to purchase completion. For established businesses and startups, this isn’t just a trend to observe passively; it’s a challenge requiring immediate adaptation and understanding.
Here is where things are headed. Imagine delegating shopping tasks to AI-powered agents like ChatGPT or Gemini. These systems can compare products, negotiate prices, manage logistics, and even order items without human input. It’s as if customers suddenly have personal assistants who handle everything for them. But while some see unparalleled convenience, the impact on consumer behavior and on business strategies is enormous, and not all positive.
What Is Agentic Commerce and Why Should Retailers Care?
Agentic commerce flips the script. Instead of browsing websites, customers allow AI agents to interact directly with retail systems on their behalf. The result? Customers spend less time on websites, and businesses have fewer opportunities for direct interaction with their buyers. This raises an immediate question: who controls the shopping process, the retailer or the AI agent?
For large-scale retailers, such as Amazon, this shift could mean more than just updating existing systems. Changes in customer dependency on agents mean established methods like SEO or promotional campaigns might lose weight as AI algorithms increasingly drive buying decisions. According to Google’s recent announcement about its plans for agent-based commerce embedded in search, retailers risk becoming invisible unless they adopt this technology rapidly.
The Numbers Behind the Shift
- Market Size: According to McKinsey, agentic commerce in the U.S. could reach a staggering $1 trillion by 2030.
- Consumer Usage: Current trends on platforms like ChatGPT show AI-driven shopping interactions are growing. Adobe reported a 670% increase in AI-driven online retail traffic during Cyber Monday alone.
- Adoption Velocity: Despite concerns, 50% of users are cautiously warming up to autonomous purchase decisions, as analyzed by Bain & Company.
What this means is clear: agentic commerce is already making significant inroads. Ignoring it could leave businesses behind faster than anticipated.
A Practical Guide for Startups to Adapt
Whether your business employs a small team or is still bootstrapping, it’s possible to prepare for agentic commerce without imploding your budget. Here are steps I advise:
- Optimize for Machine Readability: Ensure your product catalogs are accessible to AI agents, with clearly defined metadata for search tools. Platforms like McKinsey’s insights on agentic commerce explain how directories need to function differently to retain visibility in AI interfaces.
- Diversify Channels: Relying on fewer marketplaces could backfire. Use a “many-to-many” infrastructure strategy where your business can interact with multiple agents simultaneously.
- Integrate Secure Protocols: Tools like Google’s Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) streamline transactions between AI agents and businesses. Explore how you can be part of these integrations early.
- Build Personalized AI Tools for Your Platform: Brands such as Shopify are embedding conversational agents within their systems to guide customers without requiring external platforms like ChatGPT.
These adaptations don’t require groundbreaking resources but do demand clarity of focus. For startups, implementing these changes incrementally is key while keeping tabs on evolving standards.
Common Mistakes Businesses Make
- Believing Agentic Commerce Is Only for Large Players: Smaller retailers mistakenly assume only giants like Amazon or Google can benefit. In reality, smaller startups have the flexibility to pivot faster than established mega-companies.
- Neglecting Mobile Readiness: As agents interact on mobile-first platforms, businesses failing to optimize product visibility across devices risk losing relevance.
- Short-Term Thinking: Businesses often focus on immediate revenue loss due to agent traffic shifts. Instead, invest in creating systems that hold customer loyalty despite reduced direct interaction.
Essential Insights
Overall, agentic commerce offers efficiency but introduces complexity. Startups that remain nimble and willing to test new ideas will be better equipped to survive this transition. Established companies too slow to adapt risk losing direct access to their customers.
Beyond technical readiness, businesses must consider the emotional aspect. Autonomous shopping strips away traditional browsing, which many people enjoy for inspiration or discovery. Think about how your messaging resonates with consumers who now let machines handle the process.
Conclusion
The agentic shift doesn’t just touch retail technology, it’s reshaping relationships between brands and consumers. As both a startup founder and observer, I see significant opportunities for experimenting with systems that cater to AI agents while still appealing to their human owners. Startups ready to embrace new processes and rethink traditional strategies have the best shot at thriving in this changing landscape.
For deeper insights into optimizing your systems for agentic commerce, explore McKinsey’s latest research and tools like Google’s announced AI-payment protocols. Knowing where to start may help your business survive this era of autonomous shopping evolution.
FAQ
1. What is Agentic Commerce?
Agentic Commerce refers to the use of AI agents to manage the entire shopping lifecycle, from researching products to completing purchases autonomously. Read more about Agentic Commerce on McKinsey
2. How might Agentic Commerce disrupt traditional shopping methods?
Agentic Commerce could shift consumer behavior away from browsing and interacting directly with retailers, as AI agents make autonomous purchasing decisions. Learn about agentic commerce disruptions on GeekWire
3. What is the estimated market value for Agentic Commerce by 2030?
Agentic Commerce is projected to reach $1 trillion in market value in the U.S. by 2030. See McKinsey's insights for more details
4. What changes do businesses need to make for AI readiness?
Businesses must optimize their product directories for AI agent readability and adopt secure transaction protocols for interaction with AI systems. Explore how retailers can adapt via Google Cloud
5. Which industries might benefit most from Agentic Commerce?
Industries selling low-consideration, high-frequency items, such as groceries and household goods, are likely to benefit as AI eliminates manual purchase processes. Read McKinsey’s detailed analysis
6. What are the technology protocols emerging in this space?
Tools like Google’s Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol (MCP), and OpenAI/Stripe’s Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) are standardizing transactions for AI agents. Learn more about Google’s AP2 Protocol
7. Are users fully comfortable with AI-driven purchases?
Around 50% of consumers are cautiously receptive to autonomous purchase decisions made by AI agents. See research from Bain & Company
8. How is Google integrating AI into shopping processes?
Google recently introduced AI-powered “Buy for Me” features in its search results, enabling seamless transactions directly within the platform. Discover Google's shopping innovations at DigitalCommerce360
9. How do AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity contribute to Agentic Commerce?
Platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity help consumers research products and manage shopping interactions through conversational AI capabilities. See how ChatGPT is influencing retail at TechCrunch
10. What common mistakes do businesses make regarding Agentic Commerce?
Mistakes include underestimating its relevance for smaller players and neglecting mobile-readiness, which is critical for AI agent interactions. Learn about preparation errors with Logicbroker
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.