What is agentic commerce and what does it mean for e-commerce?

AI is changing not only how people search for information, but also how they buy products. Whilst e-commerce has revolved around search results, product pages and checkouts for years, a new layer is now emerging in the purchasing process. AI agents are increasingly taking over part of the work.

Consider a user who asks an AI assistant to find the best running shoes under 150 euros and order them straight away. In such a scenario, the user may no longer visit a webshop at all. The AI agent does the work. We call this concept ‘agent-based commerce’. In this blog, we explain what it is, why it is important for e-commerce and how protocols such as ACP and UCP relate to it.

What is agentic commerce?

Agentic commerce is a form of digital commerce in which AI agents carry out actions independently within the purchasing process. Instead of a user navigating a webshop themselves, an AI system can search for, compare and ultimately order products.

The role of AI is thus shifting from that of an assistant to that of an executor. For example, an AI agent might be given a task such as: ‘Find a laptop for video editing under 1,200 euros and order the best option.’ The agent then analyses various online shops, compares products, and the system can complete the purchase.

For e-commerce businesses, this means that the purchasing process no longer always runs via their own interface. Instead, AI systems communicate directly with a webshop’s systems. As a result, e-commerce is shifting from an interface-based experience to a protocol-based infrastructure.

How are AI agents changing the buying process?

AI agents are changing the way people shop online. Whereas consumers used to have to browse through dozens of product pages themselves, an AI system can speed up this process.

An AI agent can perform various tasks:

Search for products based on specific requirements;
Compare prices and reviews;
Making proposals based on preferences;
Complete a purchase

This means that e-commerce businesses must be visible not only to search engines, but also to AI systems that collect information. Product data, reviews and specifications therefore play a greater role in how products are discovered.

In the Netherlands, we are already seeing this emerge gradually. Major retailers are developing their own AI assistants to help customers with product choices. At the same time, new forms of commerce are growing via AI platforms and ‘ social ’ media.

What do ACP and UCP mean in agentic commerce?

For AI agents to actually carry out purchases, systems must be able to communicate with one another. To this end, new protocols have been developed that are specifically geared towards digital commerce via AI. Two key examples are the Universal Commerce Protocol and the Agentic Commerce Protocol.

Agentic commerce protocol

The Agentic Commerce Protocol, also known as ACP, focuses primarily on the transaction layer. This protocol enables AI assistants to make purchases via standardised API endpoints.

Think of functions such as:

Create a checkout;
Customising a shopping basket;
Completing an order;
Cancelling an order;

Thanks to this structure, AI agents can make purchases without the user having to navigate a webshop themselves. The webshop remains the point of sale, but the interaction takes place via an AI agent.

Universal Commerce Protocol

The Universal Commerce Protocol, often abbreviated to UCP, is an open standard developed to enable digital sales within AI environments. The protocol allows AI interfaces such as Google AI Mode and Gemini to initiate purchases directly during a conversation with a user.

When an online shop implements UCP, an AI system can display products and initiate a purchase without the user first having to navigate to the website. The interaction therefore takes place within the AI environment, whilst the online shop remains responsible for the actual sale.

A key feature of UCP is that the online shop remains the Merchant of Record. This means that the seller retains ownership of the customer relationship, customer data and the entire purchasing process. The AI interface therefore acts as a point of entry, but the transaction remains part of the online shop itself.

By linking UCP to an existing Google Merchant Centre account, products can appear in new AI shopping experiences. Consider situations where a user asks a question in AI Mode and can purchase a product immediately within the same interaction. This significantly shortens the gap between discovery and purchase.

For e-commerce businesses, this opens up new channels for reaching customers. Rather than simply appearing in search results, products can also appear within AI interfaces where users are already expressing their intention to buy.

How can e-commerce businesses prepare?

Although agentic commerce is still under development, e-commerce companies can already start preparing. The foundation lies primarily in data and infrastructure.

Here are a number of steps that e-commerce teams can take right now:

Ensure that product data is complete and consistent;
Use clear product identifiers;
Structure product information using schema markup;
Make catalogue data suitable for API use.

Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly important for systems to be flexible enough to communicate with external platforms. AI agents must be able to retrieve product information and carry out transactions via standardised interfaces.

Companies that adapt their e-commerce infrastructure to this early on can benefit from new forms of visibility within AI systems.

Why should e-commerce companies keep an eye on this topic?

Agentic commerce is not a passing fad. It demonstrates just how rapidly AI is transforming the digital purchasing process. Whereas e-commerce used to revolve around websites and apps, the focus is increasingly shifting towards ecosystems in which different systems work together.

For e-commerce businesses, this means that visibility extends beyond search engines alone. Product data, integrations and machine-readable information are playing an increasingly important role in how products are found and purchased.

Companies that recognise this early on and adapt their systems accordingly are better prepared for a future in which AI agents play an increasingly significant role in online purchases.

Any questions about agentic commerce?

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What is agentic commerce and what does it mean for e-commerce?

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