Future of Shopping: How AI Agents Are Automating Purchases and Payments Online

Vacation season is coming up, and many of us are getting ready to travel. But everyone knows how tedious and time-consuming it can be to search for the cheapest flights and best hotels. What if soon, artificial intelligence could take care of this entire process for you? Imagine simply telling an AI your preferences and requirements. It would compare all available options behind the scenes, make the booking, and even handle payment—no further action needed from you. 

This is where agent-based commerce, or “Agentic Commerce,” comes in. While traditional generative AI can assist and advise, AI agents in agentic commerce handle every step of the purchasing process. They search, evaluate, decide, and pay—all completely independently. 

Agentic Commerce Brings Many Benefits 

The potential of agentic commerce is huge. Consumers enjoy an unprecedented level of convenience, saving time and effort as the AI handles all the research. While the AI finds the best deals, people can focus on other things. Price comparisons and contracts are managed quickly and accurately, tailored to individual needs. This also changes the entire customer journey: the classic “moments of truth”—when a customer makes a conscious decision—are being replaced by the AI’s invisible micro-decisions. This makes brand loyalty harder to maintain, as agents make choices based primarily on price, performance, and other rational criteria, rather than emotional attachment to a brand. 

Businesses stand to gain as well. AI agents can manage supply chains, monitor inventory, and optimize purchasing automatically and proactively. Prices can be optimized through algorithmic negotiation, boosting efficiency and improving terms for everyone. Entirely new business models are emerging: for instance, subscription agents could handle regular repeat purchases, or specialized “deal-hunter” agents could constantly scan for the best prices—all without human intervention. 

The situation was clear. What mattered was how we responded. Our focus was on systematically addressing the identified weaknesses and structurally rebuilding the organization. Initial measures had already been launched; the audit added clarity and momentum to the transformation.

The New Buying Experience: Invisible Payments and Ongoing Transactions

AI agents are fundamentally changing how we shop. In the future, payments will happen in the background—guided by user preferences, but with no active participation required. Shopping becomes an automated, ongoing process: the AI checks prices, reorders items as needed, and responds in real time—often before the consumer even realizes an offer is available or supplies are running low. 

For retailers, this means a shift from classic marketing to making products technically discoverable and machine-readable. Only products that are highly digitized and presented in a machine-friendly format will be visible to AI agents. Companies will need open interfaces and high-quality data. Performance marketing and SEO will give way to “Agent Experience Optimization” (AXO)—optimizing data structures for AI agents, not just for human shoppers. 

Challenges: Legal, Technical, and Regulatory Uncertainties

Of course, agentic commerce also brings significant challenges. Until now, payment and commerce have been built around human decision-makers. Innovations like credit cards, e-wallets, and mobile payments were designed to make transactions convenient and secure for people. AI agents change all that—humans step back from the payment process. 

This raises a host of new questions: How do we make sure AI agents act in the best interest of their users? What about chargebacks if no actual person initiated a purchase? How much control do users have—or want to give up? How are security tokens for agents generated and managed? Who is liable if there are mistakes or fraudulent transactions, especially when commerce runs globally and around the clock without human approval? 

There are many technical and regulatory questions to resolve. Security tokens for AI agents are not yet standardized, and traditional models for fraud prevention and risk assessment may not work. Constantly active transaction patterns require new, advanced security and monitoring approaches. At the same time, legal and regulatory frameworks lag behind, leaving many questions about liability, responsibility, and compliance. Legislators will need to create a new environment in which agentic commerce can develop in a way that is both safe and beneficial to consumers. 

Massive Market Potential: Billions of Transactions Driven by AI Agents

So where do things stand today? The potential for agent-based commerce is enormous. Analysts expect that by 2029, AI agents could handle between 1% and 4% of all digital payment transactions. With a projected total transaction volume of over $36 trillion a year, even a small share translates into a market worth up to $1.47 trillion. AI could also boost conversion rates as human hesitation is removed, lessening the likelihood that customers abandon their cart during checkout. 

Agentic commerce is still in its early stages, but progress is rapid. For example, US company Perplexity, a generative AI provider focused on commerce, launched an AI agent in September 2024 that could independently handle orders. It isn’t flawless yet—the agent reportedly needed two tries and several hours to buy a tube of toothpaste. These limitations show that true, widespread use will take time, but the direction is clear. 

Major payment providers like Visa and Mastercard are now investing in the field. In early 2025, both announced new AI commerce services—Mastercard focusing on agent-based tokenization and Visa on a scalable platform for data protection and risk management. Other major payment providers and platform operators are also moving forward, enabling small businesses and developers to automate payments, billing, shipping, and subscription management with easy-to-integrate, AI-ready interfaces. Integration barriers are being lowered, so even those without programming skills can start using AI-powered workflows. 

Conclusion: The Future Is Closer Than You Think

The rapid progress of artificial intelligence means agentic commerce is no longer just a distant vision—it’s already becoming a reality. To revisit the Perplexity example: just six months later, US customers could book trips, order products, or buy tickets—while payment was handled automatically in the background via services like PayPal or Venmo. The path to autonomous commerce is well underway. 

How widespread this technology becomes will depend on people’s willingness to let machines handle their purchases—and the trust they place in these systems. One thing is clear: agentic commerce could revolutionize the shopping experience for consumers, merchants, and the financial sector as a whole. Companies that get involved early stand to gain a significant advantage. 

About Pascal Beij

As Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), Pascal Beij plays a key role in driving Unzer’s growth strategy. Under his leadership, Unzer is building an integrated ecosystem to support merchants throughout the payment process and accelerate their digital transformation. The goal is seamless, easily integrated payment and software solutions to help businesses digitize their processes and meet changing customer expectations. Unzer focuses especially on industry-specific software and payment solutions for small and mid-sized companies. Before joining Unzer, Pascal was Senior Vice President Retail for Central Europe at payment service provider Planet. With over 20 years’ experience in payments and retail, he is widely recognized as an industry expert and thought leader.