Retailers are on the verge of losing control over their customer relationships as artificial intelligence (AI)-powered shopping agents begin to reshape how people buy online, according to a new report from Boston Consulting Group.
In its October analysis, “Agentic Commerce Is Redefining Retail—Here’s How to Respond,” BSG describes a fundamental realignment in digital commerce. The shift is being driven by an agentic commerce world where AI assistants embedded in ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Perplexity increasingly function as personal shoppers. They find products, compare prices and complete purchases without customers ever visiting a retailer’s website.
“Without intervention, retailers risk being reduced to background utilities in agent-controlled marketplaces,” the authors write. “Your most valuable customer might not be a human.”
BCG frames this as more than a theoretical concern. Adoption is accelerating fast. More than half of consumers expect to use AI assistants for shopping by the end of 2025, the firm reports, citing Adobe. Adobe data show traffic to U.S. retail sites from generative AI browsers and chat services surged 4,700% year over year in July 2025. Those visitors spent 32% more time on site, viewed 10% more pages and had a 27% lower bounce rate than traditional shoppers. That indicates AI-driven sessions can be more purposeful and closer to conversion.
Impact of AI agents on online retail
But while engagement is rising, control is slipping away from retailers. As AI platforms become the main entry point for shopping, customers increasingly bypass brand websites.
“The growth of zero-click searches, and agent-driven interactions is eroding direct traffic — along with the retailer’s ability to observe, influence, and understand consumer behavior at scale,” BCG warns.
The firm cites rapid moves by major technological players. Perplexity has integrated PayPal to allow in-chat payments and connected to merchants through Firmly.ai. OpenAI’s ChatGPT recently launched Instant Checkout for Etsy sellers, with Shopify support planned next. Google’s AI Mode now lets users compare products and will soon enable price tracking and one-click checkout through Google Pay.
BCG calls this evolution a “seismic shift” that demands immediate response. It lays out a three-part strategy for retailers:
First, companies must “win with third-party agents” by optimizing for generative experience optimization (GXO). That would require making product data authoritative, structured and machine-readable so AI systems can find and cite it. BCG notes that U.S. spending on AI-driven search ads could reach about $26 billion by 2029, or 14% of total search ad spend, according to eMarketer.
Second, retailers should build proprietary agentic experiences. They should deploy branded AI agents that reflect each company’s voice and data, workforce agents that support store associates, and partner agents to streamline supplier operations.
Finally, they must establish foundational capabilities: scalable AI platforms, new measurement systems for GenAI visibility, governance to manage ethical risks, and workforce training to operate “at AI speed and scale.”
“This is not a future-state ambition — it’s a strategic imperative today,” BCG concludes. “Those who move now will define the next era of customer engagement. Those who wait risk becoming invisible.”
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