Anthropic launches agentic AI commerce blueprint for Claude

Anthropic has introduced an agentic AI commerce blueprint designed to help businesses deploy shopping and merchant agents using Claude. The toolkit provides frameworks for sectors including retail, travel, and telecommunications. For consumers, these agents can use natural language to find products, compare options, and manage orders, including inquiries regarding deliveries and returns. Anthropic reports that retailers using these agents have seen cart growth of up to 35%.

On the merchant side, the toolkit includes agents to assist employees with inventory monitoring, sales analysis, and marketing campaign drafting, though human approval is required for proposed changes. Anthropic is collaborating with Accenture, Mastercard, and Visa to drive adoption, while Shopify is developing a reference storefront based on the framework.

Industry experts suggest that the immediate commercial value of agentic commerce may lie in post-purchase automation. Addressing issues such as delivery delays and returns through AI agents can reduce operational costs and improve customer loyalty. In the UK, for example, online returns in non-food categories cost retailers £27 billion in 2024, highlighting the potential for AI to streamline complex resolution processes like refunds or replacements.