What is agentic commerce?

Laatst bijgewerkt: October 6, 2025

The next revolution in e-commerce is conversational

The way we shop online is about to fundamentally change. For decades, the customer journey has been a visual one: we navigate menus, click on categories, and filter products. But what if the next interface isn’t a screen, but a conversation? This is the core of Agentic Commerce.

Agentic Commerce is the process where an AI assistant, or ‘agent’, handles the entire purchase on behalf of a consumer. Instead of sending a user to a webshop, the AI acts as a digital personal shopper that discovers, recommends, and purchases products directly within a chat interface.

How does it work in practice?

Imagine a user typing into ChatGPT: “I’m looking for a waterproof running jacket for men under €150.”

1. Product Discovery: The AI agent searches the product catalogs of connected retailers.
2. Recommendation: The agent presents the most relevant options directly in the chat, based on the user’s specifications.
3. Checkout: The user chooses a product and clicks “Buy Now”. The AI handles the payment and shipping via a secure, standardized connection, without ever leaving the chat.

This entire process is made possible by open standards like the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) from OpenAI and the Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) from Google. These protocols are the ‘universal language’ that webshops and AI agents need to communicate safely and efficiently.

Why is this a game-changer?

Agentic Commerce removes the biggest source of friction in e-commerce: the need to switch platforms. The purchase happens at the exact moment and in the exact place where the intent arises. For retailers, this means a completely new sales channel with the potential for significantly higher conversion rates. The future of e-commerce is not just online, but on-demand and conversational.