What's the difference between agentic and conversational commerce?

Conversational commerce provides AI chat assistance while you make decisions (AI advises, you decide). Agentic commerce lets AI autonomously execute complete purchases from research through checkout based on your parameters (AI decides and executes within your boundaries).

How do autonomous payments work securely?

Agentic payments use protocols like Google's Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) with cryptographically signed mandates and tokenized credentials from Mastercard/Visa. This enables AI purchases within preset budgets with single-use tokenized credentials and complete transaction traceability.

Which products are best for agentic commerce?

Commoditized products (groceries, household staples, office supplies), B2B repetitive procurement, and routine replenishment purchases deliver the highest ROI. Luxury goods and experiential purchases remain better suited for human-driven exploration.

When will agentic commerce become mainstream?

Adoption is accelerating through 2025-2028. Full market maturity and widespread agent-to-agent commerce are expected between 2028 and 2030.

What does implementation cost for businesses?

Basic implementations range from $15,000-$30,000, while enterprise-scale systems can cost $100,000-$500,000+. Typical payback periods range from 8 to 14 months due to significant efficiency gains and conversion increases.

How do I prepare my business for the agentic era?

Start by converting product catalogs to machine-readable JSON-LD format, building real-time inventory and pricing APIs, and optimizing for AI agent discovery through AEO and GEO. Integrating with major AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity is also critical.

What Is Agentic Commerce?

Quick Answer: Agentic commerce is AI-powered autonomous shopping where AI agents independently search, compare, negotiate, and complete purchases on your behalf. McKinsey projects agentic commerce will capture up to $1 trillion in US retail revenue by 2030, representing one-third of all online sales.

Key Takeaways

Agentic Commerce is the $1 trillion shift from traditional search-and-click to autonomous AI agents independently searching, comparing, and purchasing on behalf of consumers.
McKinsey (2024) projects agentic commerce will capture up to one-third of all US online sales by 2030, representing a $1 trillion revenue milestone.
The 3 Core Capabilities—Delegated Authority, Preference Architecture, and Autonomous Execution—allow AI agents to close the loop with limited human manual input (Mastercard, 2025).
Retailers are seeing 88% positive ROI from initial agentic implementations, with platforms like Danfoss and Mediq automating 80-91% of order-related tasks (Go Autonomous, 2024).

Last Updated: January 18, 2026 • Reading Time: 12 minutes

What Is Agentic Commerce?

Agentic commerce is shopping powered by AI agents that autonomously execute complete transactions, from discovery through checkout with minimal human intervention.

The 3 Core Capabilities

Delegated Authority: You transfer decision-making power to AI agents for specific shopping tasks. Mastercard (2025) defines it as systems where "an AI agent closes the loop searching for items, comparing options and making a purchase, with limited or no manual inputs needed."
Preference Architecture: AI systems capture and apply your preferences across all interactions, learning from each purchase to improve future recommendations.
Autonomous Execution: AI agents navigate marketplaces, negotiate prices, and complete transactions independently within parameters you set.

The Technical Infrastructure

Agentic commerce relies on emerging protocols that allow different AI systems to communicate and execute transactions securely.

Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP): Developed by Stripe and OpenAI to define a common language for how agents and businesses transact.
Model Context Protocol (MCP): An open standard from Anthropic that enables AI models to safely access data and tools across different platforms.
Agent Payments Protocol (AP2): Google's framework for secure, cryptographically signed payment mandates.
A2A (Agent-to-Agent): Developed by Google, this is the standard for autonomous negotiation between a buyer's agent and a seller's agent.
Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP): An open standard for AI agent interoperability that enables autonomous discovery of merchant capabilities, session management, and cross-platform transaction negotiation.

How Agentic Commerce Works

Quick Answer: Agentic commerce works through five steps: (1) understanding your intent through natural language, (2) searching across multiple platforms simultaneously, (3) comparing options using AI analysis, (4) negotiating prices with retailer systems, and (5) completing secure autonomous checkout.

The 5-Step Process

1. Intent Recognition: You state what you want in natural language: "Order organic dog food under $50, grain-free, with free shipping." AI agents using large language models understand complex requests with 92% accuracy (industry benchmarks, 2024).
2. Multi-Platform Search: AI agents scan 50+ retailers in under 3 seconds—a task requiring 2-3 hours manually (BCG, 2025). The system simultaneously checks inventory, pricing, shipping options, and reviews.
3. Intelligent Comparison: AI analyzes 100+ products across price, quality ratings, delivery speed, and total cost. According to DigitalOcean (2025), agents evaluate far more options than the 3-5 products humans typically compare.
4. Autonomous Negotiation: Shopping agents communicate with retailer systems to secure bundle discounts, loyalty benefits, and promotional pricing automatically (Edgar Dunn & Company, 2025).
5. Secure Checkout: AI completes transactions using protocols like Google's Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) with cryptographically signed mandates. Checkout completes in 5-10 seconds with 99%+ accuracy.

Agentic vs Traditional vs Conversational Commerce

Traditional e-commerce requires continuous human involvement, conversational commerce adds AI chat assistance while humans decide, and agentic commerce enables AI to autonomously execute complete transactions based on your parameters.

Comparison of Traditional, Conversational, and Agentic Commerce approaches
Feature	Traditional Commerce	Conversational Commerce	Agentic Commerce
Role of AI	None/Passive (Recommendations)	Active Assistant (Chatbots/Voice)	Autonomous Agent (Independent Buyer)
User Involvement	Continuous (Search, Click, Checkout)	Interactive (Guidance & Confirmation)	Minimal (Set Parameters & Delegated)
Core Technology	Web Browsers & Shopping Carts	Natural Language Processing (NLP)	AI Protocols (ACP, MCP, AP2)
Primary Goal	Manual Product Discovery	Assisted Decision Making	Autonomous Task Execution
Decision Maker	The Human	Human (informed by AI)	AI Agent (within authority)

When to Use Each Approach

Choose Traditional E-Commerce for:

High-involvement purchases (luxury goods, home decor).
Complex customization needs.
Products requiring visual exploration.

Choose Conversational Commerce for:

Complex product questions.
Guided selling processes (insurance, financial products).
Customer support integration.

Choose Agentic Commerce for:

Repetitive routine purchases (groceries, household staples).
Multi-vendor price optimization.
Time-sensitive procurement.
B2B repetitive ordering.

Real Results: Mediq automated 91% of order-related tasks using agentic AI, eliminating 90% of processing time (Go Autonomous, 2024).

The $1 Trillion Market Opportunity

The agentic AI in retail market is valued at $46.74 billion in 2025, projected to reach $175.11 billion by 2030 (30.2% CAGR), with US B2C agentic commerce potentially capturing up to $1 trillion by 2030 according to McKinsey.

Market Size & Growth Projections

Current Market (2025): $46.74B - Agentic AI in retail/e-commerce (Mordor Intelligence)
Projected Growth (2030): $175.11B - Agentic AI in retail (30.2% CAGR) (Mordor Intelligence)
Market US Potential: Up to $1T - US B2C agentic commerce (2030) (McKinsey)

Proven ROI Metrics

88% report positive ROI from AI agent implementations (Google Cloud, 2025).
62% project 100%+ ROI in year one (Google Cloud, 2025).

Real-World Results

B2B Success Stories

Danfoss (Energy Solutions): 90% reduction in order processing time, 80%+ orders fully automated, and 70% reduction in manual errors (Go Autonomous, 2024).

Mediq (Healthcare Distributor): 91% automation of order tasks and 90% faster processing across a 4-country deployment (Go Autonomous, 2024).

Consumer-Facing Results

Rep AI Platform: 12.3% purchase rate with AI vs 3.1% without (4x improvement), with conversion increases up to 427% in specific categories (Rep AI, 2024).

Walmart: 30% reduction in out-of-stock events within 6 months and real-time inventory accuracy >95% through AI reordering (XCube Labs, 2024).

What Industry Experts Say

"Agentic commerce flips the customer journey on its head. You're not just automating what you already do—you're redesigning what shopping means."

— Becca Coggins, McKinsey, Oct 2025

"Without swift intervention, retailers risk being sidelined and reduced to mere background utilities in increasingly agent-controlled digital marketplaces."

— BCG, Oct 2025

"By next year, we anticipate a significant rise in consumers interacting with AI agents to manage their shopping, from initial intent to final receipt."

— Matt Renner, Google Cloud, Oct 2025

Key Takeaways for Brands

The data is clear:

$1 trillion US market potential by 2030.
4,700% traffic growth already measurable.
88% positive ROI rate for implementers.

Success requires:

Structured, machine-readable product data.
API-first infrastructure for real-time queries.
Integration with major AI platforms.
Consumer trust through transparency and control.
Strategic approach vs technology-only mindset.

The window is narrowing. Organizations moving decisively now will shape industry standards and capture disproportionate value. Those who wait risk invisibility to AI agents increasingly mediating consumer choice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between agentic and conversational commerce?: Conversational commerce provides AI chat assistance while you make decisions (AI advises, you decide). Agentic commerce lets AI autonomously execute complete purchases from research through checkout based on your parameters (AI decides and executes within your boundaries).
How do autonomous payments work securely?: Agentic payments use protocols like Google's Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) with cryptographically signed mandates and tokenized credentials from Mastercard/Visa. This enables AI purchases within preset budgets with single-use tokenized credentials and complete transaction traceability.
Which products are best for agentic commerce?: Commoditized products (groceries, household staples, office supplies), B2B repetitive procurement, and routine replenishment purchases deliver the highest ROI. Luxury goods and experiential purchases remain better suited for human-driven exploration.
When will agentic commerce become mainstream?: Adoption is accelerating through 2025-2028. Full market maturity and widespread agent-to-agent commerce are expected between 2028 and 2030.
What does implementation cost for businesses?: Basic implementations range from $15,000-$30,000, while enterprise-scale systems can cost $100,000-$500,000+. Typical payback periods range from 8 to 14 months due to significant efficiency gains and conversion increases.
How do I prepare my business for the agentic era?: Start by converting product catalogs to machine-readable JSON-LD format, building real-time inventory and pricing APIs, and optimizing for AI agent discovery through AEO and GEO. Integrating with major AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity is also critical.