Agentic Commerce 101
What Businesses Need to Know
Chapter 1
Question: What is agentic commerce, and what does it mean for my business?
AI is becoming part of the shopping journey. Customers are using AI tools to research products and services, compare options, get recommendations, and decide what to buy, sometimes before visiting a business’s website, app, or store.
As AI-assisted shopping becomes more common, businesses may need to think differently about how customers find and evaluate them. "Customers are fundamentally changing where they're starting, where they're getting information, and where they're ultimately making decisions," says Hannah Bozian, Vice President of Agentic Commerce and Partner Experiences at American Express.
For businesses, this creates both a challenge and an opportunity. When customers rely on AI-generated recommendations, they may visit only the businesses included among the AI-suggested options. At the same time, AI could introduce businesses to new customers who might not have found them through traditional search or advertising.
This shift is part of agentic commerce: shopping experiences in which AI agents perform some or all activities on a customer’s behalf, based on the customer’s preferences and instructions.
Today, most of these experiences are AI-assisted. Customers may use an AI tool to research, compare, or narrow their options, then complete the purchase themselves. Over time, AI agents may take on more of the process when customers authorize them to do so.
Businesses do not need to predict exactly how agentic commerce will develop, but they do need to understand how customer behavior is changing and where it could affect discovery, transactions, and customer relationships.
"Customers are fundamentally changing where they're starting, where they're getting information, and where they're ultimately making decisions,"
says Hannah Bozian, Vice President of Agentic Commerce and Partner Experiences at American Express
Welcome to the first chapter in a new series on navigating agentic commerce. It’s one example of how American Express is backing businesses with practical insights, tools, and resources to help them prepare for what's next. This chapter explains the fundamentals; the chapters that follow explore how to keep your business visible in AI searches, how to prepare for AI-assisted purchases, how to support trusted transactions, and how to give customers a reason to choose your business.
What is agentic commerce?
New findings from Amex Trendex research uncovered that 55% of U.S. consumers surveyed have used an AI agent for at least one activity across the purchase journey.1
Disclosure: Amex Trendex figures are rounded for simplicity and ease of presentation.
How is AI affecting shopping today?
Happening now |
Still developing |
|
|
Like e-commerce and digital payments before it, agentic commerce is likely to evolve over time as customers, businesses, and technology providers gain confidence and build trust in these experiences.
How may AI affect my business?
The impact of agentic commerce will vary by business. For businesses with products or services that customers already research, compare, and buy online, AI-assisted discovery may matter sooner. For businesses built around in-person service, browsing, fit, or other personal experiences, the change may look different: customers might use AI to search and get recommendations, but still make their final purchasing decisions in-store or through a salesperson.
Customer Journey Stage |
Opportunities |
Challenges |
| Discovery | Reach new customers who may not have found your business through traditional channels. |
Businesses not included in AI-assisted recommendations may have fewer opportunities to be considered. |
| Evaluation | Connect with customers who have already narrowed down what they need. | Businesses may have fewer direct interactions with customers during early research. |
| Transaction | May help reduce cart abandonment and create fast, simple shopping experiences. |
New questions may arise when AI-assisted purchases do not go as expected. |
| Relationship | Visibility into customer intent could help businesses deliver relevant experiences over time. | Maintaining customer relationships across AI-assisted channels may become more complex. |
Merchants believe AI agents could help remove friction across multiple points in the commerce journey. According to the Amex Trendex, Merchants surveyed listed reaching new customers (31%), better visibility in AI recommendations (30%), and reducing cart abandonment and checkout friction (30%) among the top three areas for positive impacts.2
What questions should I ask my partners?
"Many Merchants are approaching agentic commerce cautiously and feel like this change is happening to them,” says Stefan Olofsson, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Amex Global Network & Products. “They need guidance on where to focus and evidence of trust, transparency, and standards before fully leaning in."
Businesses may rely on commerce platforms, payment providers, technology providers, and others as agentic commerce develops. Providers will not have every answer today, but businesses can begin by asking questions now.
Ask:
- What changes are you seeing in our industry?
- Does my business need to take any action now?
- What capabilities are still developing?
- How will you communicate future requirements or opportunities?
These conversations can help you focus on confirmed priorities rather than acting on assumptions.
As a partner to both Card Members and Merchants, American Express is focused on helping businesses understand changing customer behavior while supporting commerce experiences that are trusted, secure, and practical. “Because we connect both sides of a transaction, Amex has insight into what’s happening in agentic commerce, and we’re working to make it especially relevant, easy to use, trustworthy, and valuable for customers and businesses alike,” says Inderpreet Hundal, Vice President of Agentic Commerce at American Express.
What can I do now to make sure my business is not left behind?
The following four questions each represent a chapter in this Playbook and a starting point for businesses to explore.
Visibility: Will AI find and recommend my business?
Clear, accurate, and current information can help AI tools understand what a business offers.
- Action to take: Ask several AI tools a few questions a potential customer might use without naming your business. Check whether your business appears and whether important information such as products, services, pricing, availability, delivery, and policies is accurate and easy to find.
- Example: Instead of searching for a “blue dress from X company”, a customer might ask for a “formal, mid-length blue dress for an October wedding in Chicago for under $150.” Clear product details can help an AI tool to determine whether an item fits those needs.
- Explore next: Be Found and Recommended by AI
Readiness: Can my business support an AI-assisted purchase?
The value of a recommendation can depend in part on whether the customer can complete the purchase and receive the product or service as expected.
- Action to take: Review one recent purchase from checkout through fulfillment and customer service. Identify one point where information was inaccurate, delayed, inconsistent, or difficult for the customers or your team to access.
- Example: An AI assistant may recommend a dress because it appears to be in stock, deliverable before the event, and returnable. If that information is inaccurate, the business may not meet the customer’s expectations.
- Explore next: Make AI-Driven Transactions Work for Your Business
Trust: Can customers and businesses trust an AI-assisted transaction?
As AI agents become more involved in shopping, customers and businesses will need confidence that purchases reflect the customer’s instructions, are securely authorized, and can be supported if something does not go as planned.
- Action to take: Identify who manages your current payment, fraud prevention, customer service, and dispute processes. Record any responsibility or escalation that is unclear.
- Example: If a customer questions the dress purchase initiated with help from an AI agent, your team should know what it can resolve internally and when to contact a payment, commerce, or fraud prevention provider.
- Explore next: What Businesses Need to Know to Support Trustworthy AI-Assisted Transactions
Preference: What gives customers a reason to choose my business?
Even when a business is found, customers still have to decide whether to choose it. Customers may still consider a business’s value, reputation, experience, and existing relationship with them when deciding among similar options suggested by an AI agent.
- Action to take: Identify two or three reasons customers choose your business beyond price and availability. Use customer feedback, reviews, repeat-purchase patterns, or customer service conversations to test whether those reasons reflect what customers value.
- Example: Another business may offer a similar dress at a comparable price, but a customer may prefer yours because of dependable service, useful loyalty benefits, or expert guidance on finding the right fit.
- Explore next: Stand Out When AI Narrows the Choices
A Closer Look: Building your AI Knowledge
Businesses do not need to become AI experts, but a basic understanding can make it easier to identify useful opportunities and ask informed questions.
Training, industry associations, and conversations with trusted advisors can also help business owners gain a basic understanding of how AI tools work and separate immediate priorities from long-term possibilities.
Frequently asked questions
Agentic commerce refers to shopping experiences in which AI agents perform some or all activities on a customer’s behalf, based on the customer’s preferences and instructions. Those activities can include researching options, making recommendations, comparing products or services, and, as capabilities develop, completing purchases or taking other authorized actions, like signing up for membership programs.
Customers are using AI tools to research products and services, compare options, summarize information, and get recommendations. Today, customers typically make the final decision and complete the purchase themselves. AI may influence decisions before customers visit a website, app, marketplace, or store.
AI is becoming part of how customers discover and evaluate businesses. As a result, AI tools may influence which products, brands, or services customers consider. Maintaining accurate, trustworthy information and clearly communicating their value may help businesses adapt as these shopping behaviors evolve.
Businesses do not need a fully developed agentic commerce strategy to start preparing. Many businesses can begin by understanding how customers are using AI, reviewing how their business appears online, testing common customer questions, and ensuring key information is accurate, current, and easy to understand.
Watch for changes in customer behavior, new capabilities from commerce and payment providers, and clearer approaches to customer authorization, security, transactions, and support.
Additional Chapters
Sources:
*IBM Institute for Business Value, in collaboration with the National Retail Federation, "IBM-NRF Study: Brands and Retailers Navigate a New Reality as AI Shapes Consumer Decisions Before Shopping Begins," January 7, 2026.
** Bain & Company, "2030 Forecast: How Agentic AI Will Reshape US Retail," December 17, 2025.
Research Methodology:
1 The Amex Trendex: Agentic Commerce Edition consumer survey is based on a sample of 2,005 U.S. adults age 18+ who have made an online purchase three or more times in the past 6 months based on self-report. The sample for the study came from an online panel. The anonymous survey was conducted online August 10-14, 2026.
2 The Amex Trendex: Agentic Commerce Edition merchant survey was conducted among a sample of 502 business leaders in the U.S. who have responsibility for making decisions regarding customer payment options or online sales/digital strategy and planning. Respondent companies accept online or mobile payments and are not franchisees. The sample for the study came from an online panel. The anonymous survey was conducted online August 10-18, 2026.