# What Is Agentic Commerce?
source: https://developer.mastercard.com/merchant-cloud/documentation/tutorials-and-guides/ai-revolution/11/index.md

## What the Agent Does? {#what-the-agent-does}

Agentic commerce operates through AI agents that act on behalf of a consumer. They discover products, they compare options, and they complete transactions within guardrails the user sets.

Instead of clicking through multiple sites, the consumer talks to a trusted agent:
> *"Find a hotel in Barcelona for three nights. Near the conference center. Under $300 per night. Refundable. Book it with my business card."*

Behind the scenes, the agent does several things:

* Understands the intent and constraints
* Searches across multiple merchants and marketplaces
* Evaluates options based on price, reviews, policies, and availability
* Confirms the choice with the consumer
* Completes the purchase securely

From the consumer's perspective, it feels like one conversation. From your perspective as a merchant, a new type of customer shows up. An AI agent needs clear product information, unambiguous policies and a reliable, secure way to complete the checkout.

Agentic commerce spans a spectrum:

* **Collaborative** -- The agent suggests. The human decides and approves.
* **Automated** -- For low-risk or repeat purchases, the agent completes the transaction on its own.

Both ends of this spectrum will reshape how customers discover and buy from you.

## A New Way Consumers Shop {#a-new-way-consumers-shop}

To understand the impact, imagine three everyday scenarios:

**The weekly grocery run**

A parent tells their agent:
> *"Keep my pantry stocked for five family dinners a week. Stay within $150. Prioritize healthy options my kids will actually eat."*

The agent tracks inventory, compares retailers, applies promotions, schedules deliveries. It only asks questions when something important changes, like a price spike or stockout.

**The complex purchase**

A consumer wants a new laptop:
> *"Find me the best laptop under $1,500 for video editing and casual gaming, quiet keyboard, lightweight for travel, shipped in the next 5 days."*

The agent weighs specs and benchmarks, checks warranties and return policies. It evaluates availability across merchants, narrows choices to two or three and explains trade-offs in plain language. Then it helps finalize the purchase.

**The post-purchase follow-up**

A customer receives a damaged item:
> *"The coffee maker I ordered last week arrived broken. Get me a refund or replacement, whichever is faster."*

The agent retrieves order details, checks the return policy. It then initiates the claim with the merchant, uploads photos if needed and tracks the resolution. The customer stays informed without navigating multiple support channels.

In each case, shopping happens primarily in the agent's interface. The consumer stays in one conversation while the agent does the heavy lifting.

### How Agentic Commerce Works Today {#how-agentic-commerce-works-today}

Fully autonomous shopping agents are still emerging. But the core building blocks are already here. Many are already in use.

#### 1. Commerce natively inside AI assistants {#1-commerce-natively-inside-ai-assistants}

Tools like [ChatGPT](https://chatgpt.com/), [Gemini](https://gemini.google.com/), [Perplexity](https://www.perplexity.ai), and [Claude](https://claude.ai/) already help consumers shop:

* They research products across multiple sources.
* They summarize pros and cons in plain language.
* They guide users through decisions with rich, visual product comparisons.
* They increasingly support direct purchases. Google's Gemini now offers one-click checkout via Google Pay with 20+ retail partners including Walmart, Target, and Shopify. ChatGPT surfaces products from major retailers through its Agentic Commerce Protocol and routes consumers to the merchant's own website or integrated retailer app for checkout.

This feels like asking a knowledgeable friend for advice --- and that friend increasingly handles the buying too.

#### 2. Agentic Browsers like OpenAI's Atlas or Perplexity's Comet {#2-agentic-browsers-like-openais-atlas-or-perplexitys-comet}

AI-first browsers like [Atlas](https://chatgpt.com/atlas) and [Comet](https://www.perplexity.ai/comet) are designed for this new reality:

* They help agents read and navigate existing commerce sites.
* They understand what a page means, not just how it looks by analyzing the HTML, structured product data and accessibility hints (ARIA tags).
* They increasingly support programmatic interactions to reduce errors when agents fill out forms and complete checkouts.

If your site is clear and well-structured, agents succeed more often.

#### Payment networks provide the trust layer {#payment-networks-provide-the-trust-layer}

Global payment networks like Mastercard, Visa, and American Express are building the infrastructure that makes agent shopping safe:

* They certify trusted agents through rigorous security reviews.
* They provide tokenized payment methods that protect card details.
* They create standards, so merchants know which agents to trust.

This is similar to how card networks established trust in online shopping decades ago. Now they are doing it again for AI agents.
Tip: The key point: agentic commerce is not a distant future. It is happening now in stages. Consumers are already asking AI for shopping help. The infrastructure to support full transactions is growing rapidly. Your opportunity is to prepare while the shift is still early.