AI Agents for Shopping:
A Frictionless Tool Could Transform the Trillion-Dollar Brand and Retailer Relationship
by James Sorensen
Ecommerce has been a disruptive force in retail for many years, but it hasn’t yet been fully transformational. With the introduction of AI Agents for shopping this is about to change, and it could massively shift the traditional retailer and brand relationship.
Disruption, but not transformation
After a decade of double-digit growth, ecommerce sales significantly outpaced other retail channels—particularly in 2020 when the growth of online sales accelerated rapidly. Despite its obvious advantages, and the boost it experienced in 2020, growth has slowed lately and has not reached critical mass in many categories. In certain categories, such as groceries and household essentials, online sales remain minimal, accounting for about 10% of purchases. Even in categories where ecommerce thrives, such as smartphones or laptops, online sales represent only about half of the total volume.
Last year we reported that use of GenAI is having a big impact on the shopper journey—and indeed its impact is growing. Burke’s latest research on AI shopper tracking shows a surge in use of GenAI while shopping, with now one-third of shoppers leveraging GenAI for purchase in the past year.
Our survey saw the biggest increases in use of GenAI for big-ticket items and complex services like real estate, travel planning, and even mental health support – which suggests more people are thinking of GenAI as a super-powered research assistant for life’s major decisions. However, for everyday essentials like groceries or cosmetics, GenAI’s growth is more of a gentle ripple.
AI Agents, the shopper journey game changer
Why don’t shoppers buy more online? When we ask them, desire for immediacy (“I want it now”) is a big driver, but many shoppers also continue to struggle with the online shopping experience. The digital shelf is endless, which creates cognitive overload, and many don’t buy online because they don’t have the confidence to make the decision.
With the introduction of AI agents for shopping, this is likely to change. Currently, traditional GenAI platforms (e.g. ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.) help speed the shopper journey by helping consumers narrow down their options, but it does not complete the transaction. However, AI Agents for shopping are algorithms that are empowered to act on behalf of the shopper, facilitating the actual purchase. While AI Agents are still in their infancy, as they evolve to become the shopper’s digital assistant, they remove a lot of the friction and will further accelerate ecommerce sales, particularly in categories that continue to lag.
AI agents for shopping will offer personalized recommendations, streamline product discovery, and provide proactive assistance—eventually integrating these capabilities seamlessly through chatbots or voice assistants. You can see the power of an AI Agent in this demonstration where the user seamlessly chats with an AI Agent as it builds a shopping list and places the order through Instacart. This basic demonstration begins to reveal the power of this technology.
Upheaval in the retailer and brand relationship
We expect AI agents for shopping to be integrated into all retail channels, but it is most likely that a third-party “shopping assistant” app will emerge and serve as the shopper’s companion. Like we do with a Netflix subscription, the consumer will subscribe to a service that can serve as its guide through the shopper journey. Amazon, Walmart, or other major retailers could step in and own this space, but a third-party model will allow the consumer to “shop” for items across different retail channels and brands, ensuring the best product, for the best price is delivered when it is needed. As the portal to shopping, a third-party app would have a huge asset as they own the data, and the ability to monetize their audience as an advertising platform.
If a third-party “shopping assistant” platform emerges, this will have massive impact on how brands market to consumers. There are several steps that brands can take to prepare:
- Partnerships: Brands need to embrace partnerships with AI agent developers and platforms.
- AI Agent SEO: Brands will also need to optimize for AI agent discovery, including focusing on natural language processing to ensure information is easily accessible through voice commands.
- Personalization: Marketers and brands need to invest in data and infrastructure that will enable personalized experiences and dynamic pricing and promotions.
AI agents for shopping will transform the traditional shopper journey, but they will also cause a huge shift in the power dynamic between retailers and brands. Brands would again be put in a position to establish relationships more directly with the consumer, relying less on retailer intermediaries.
Buckle up. It is going to be an interesting ride.
James has been studying shoppers since 1993—first as part of the pioneering Sorensen Associates, the in-store research company, and then as part of the Kantar Retail Consulting practice. James now serves his clients as the retail and shopper insights expert at Burke.
Interested in reading more? Check out James’ other articles:
Recent ECommerce Growth May Not Last
Accelerating the Shopper Journey with GenAI
As always, you can follow Burke, Inc. on our LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages.
Sources:
Burke, Inc. (June 2024 – January 2025). Burke Omnibus Survey.
SellersCommerce. “United States eCommerce Sales Growth (2018 to 2024).” March 3, 2025.
OpenBrand. “Ecommerce Trends: Online Shopping vs. In-Store Sales for Consumer Durables.” December 15, 2022.
Oberlo. “Online Grocery Penetration: US (2020–2026) [Jan 2024 Update].” January 2024.
Feature Image – ©simona – stock.adobe.com
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