Shorter and devoid of emotion: the «customer journey» in the era of agent commerce

Agent commerce promises to completely reshape the «customer journey» and ultimately also the relationship forged between the consumer and brands.

Until very recently, when AI was just beginning to make inroads into the world of shopping, it was limited to making recommendations to consumers. However, with the arrival of increasingly ubiquitous AI agents, this cutting-edge technology is no longer just an advisor; it’s now directly executing the purchase of items that consumers have expressed interest in. So-called agentive commerce promises to completely reshape the customer journey and, ultimately, the relationship between consumers and brands.

Amazon, Google, OpenAI, and Perplexity, among many other players, have already turned their attention to agentive commerce, and although the adoption of this trend is progressing at different speeds, the goal is invariably the same: an ecosystem in which consumers delegate the purchasing process to AI agents.

The growing commitment to agentive commerce by companies like Amazon, Google, OpenAI, and Perplexity stems from real consumer demand. According to a recent global report by BCG, 48% of consumers use or plan to use AI tools to compare prices, search for deals, and select discounted products during Black Friday.

Agent commerce promises to become ubiquitous in the coming years.

Data from BCG’s research aligns with figures released by Amazon. The e-commerce giant claims that Rufus, its AI assistant, has already been used by 250 million people worldwide. And that’s not all. Users who choose to use Rufus are 60% more likely to make a purchase, which would translate into an additional $10 billion in annual revenue for Amazon (already colossal).

Beyond Amazon, other technology companies like Google, OpenAI, and Perplexity are also driving agent commerce forward with cutting-edge tools whose ultimate goal is to allow consumers to make purchases directly in conversational environments.

In a context where AI seems inevitably at the mercy of Big Tech, some retailers are venturing into agent commerce with their own agents. And in contrast to the AI ​​agents controlled by the retailers themselves are the agents who pride themselves on being «neutral» from the platform’s perspective.

Both approaches ultimately rely on the same incentive: saving time for the consumer. However, while the first type of agent maintains direct contact between the retailer and the consumer, the second type mediates this relationship through third-party technology.

In any case, given that we are on the cusp of the rise of agent-based commerce, retailers seem destined to transform their current marketing strategies. They must, for example, convert their product information into «agent-ready» content, where item specifications are complete, prices are up-to-date, and there is clear and precise information on availability and return policies. AI agents, after all, need this type of information to provide consumers with personalized recommendations and ultimately complete purchases on their behalf.

Marketing in the Age of Agent Commerce

In the new landscape emerging with the arrival of agent commerce, retailers are also obligated to carefully evaluate the situations in which their products best fit. This will ultimately lead to what is known as «B2AI Marketing,» commercial messages whose ultimate goal is to inform AI agents rather than to emotionally engage the consumer.

The growing prominence of agent commerce, moreover, potentially puts the previously thriving retail media in a difficult position. After all, if AI agents make purchases on behalf of the consumer (and the consumer no longer has to navigate websites full of advertising), retail media inevitably loses impact, and there are fewer opportunities not only from the perspective of cross-selling but also from the perspective of impulse purchases (where emotions take center stage).

The loss of relevance of «retail media» in the age of agent commerce could be compensated (at least partially) by embedding advertising in the conversations that take place between AI and the consumer, but the insertion of commercial messages in a context that should be neutral at first glance is inevitably problematic and lends itself to eventual tensions.

Amazon, for example, has asked Perplexity to stop its browser (called Comet) from running automated purchases on its platform to «avoid degrading the experience.» The dispute between Amazon and Perplexity over AI agents could be just a preview of the many disagreements that may soon surface, all aimed at controlling the sales funnel.

In the era of agent commerce, the customer journey will likely be shorter, more technical, and less emotionally driven. Brand visibility will depend less on appearing in top search results and more on recommendations made by AI agents. And in this new context, brands will have to focus primarily on pleasing machines, not just real people.

Source: www.marketingdirecto.com