Agentic commerce transforms retail through AI agents

A new retail trend known as ‘agentic commerce’ is emerging, where artificial intelligence agents perform purchases on behalf of consumers. This shift moves the market from traditional search systems to AI agents capable of comparing prices, reading fine print, and negotiating deals directly within smartphones.

Industry experts suggest this transition will likely begin with low-value or repetitive purchases, such as grocery shopping, to build consumer trust. Experts at the Super Bots Experience event noted that innovation may first appear through ‘vertical agents’—AI developed within specific e-commerce platforms—before evolving into ‘horizontal agents’ that can shop across any website.

In Brazil, digital payment trends support this evolution. The Pix system accounted for 42% of e-commerce transaction value in 2025. As AI agents take over the shopping process, companies will need to structure data so that AI systems can easily locate and interpret product information. To mitigate fraud and security risks, payment providers like Visa and Mastercard are utilizing tokenization, biometrics, and ‘Click to Pay’ technologies.