There's been a lot of talk recently about agentic AI and its potential to transform industries. AI, combined with autonomy, is likely to reshape the way we live, work, and do business.

Larger organizations may have the resources to deploy autonomous employees and AI-driven cybersecurity, but smaller businesses don’t have to be left behind. The rise of cloud platforms offering agentic services means there are opportunities for all.

E-commerce, often highlighted as a sector primed for agentic AI adoption, is an industry built on digital interactions. Agents capable of handling shopping-related tasks, optimizing supply chains, and creating personalized customer experiences are already here.

Retail, in particular e-commerce, has been the poster child for agentic AI and is a sector where there is a lot of hype but also some very compelling use cases. So, let’s explore what’s happening in this space and what we can expect to see in the future.

What Is Agentic AI And Why E-Commerce?

First, just in case you’re not totally sure what I’m talking about – agentic AI refers to AI systems built around the same language processing capabilities as services like ChatGPT but capable of carrying out much more complex, goal-oriented tasks with minimal human intervention. For example, they can interact with websites, fill out forms, collect and submit information and make payments.

There are a number of reasons why e-commerce as a business sector makes a great testbed for agentic adoption.

Firstly, its infrastructure, business processes and operations are built around digital platforms and data. This means AI agents can more easily connect with, talk to and operate its systems. Read more..