AI agents can personalise recommendations, compare alternatives in real time, and optimise outcomes based on consumer preferences and constraints
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The next big question in online shopping may not be what consumers buy but who makes the purchase decision. As artificial intelligence evolves from offering recommendations to acting on behalf of users, consumers may increasingly delegate searching, comparing, evaluating, and even purchasing to intelligent agents. Shopping, once centred on active consumer choice, may gradually shift towards decision delegation. This emerging transformation is known as agentic commerce.Imagine asking an AI assistant to compare smartphones within a budget, evaluate reviews, track prices, and complete the purchase automatically. Or allowing AI to reorder household essentials whenever better deals appear. Rather than replacing consumers entirely, agentic commerce changes how decisions are made by reducing effort and cognitive load.Why consumers may prefer itConsumers today operate in an environment of information overload and endless choice. Comparing alternatives across platforms often creates decision fatigue and slows purchase decisions. Agentic commerce promises convenience by reducing search costs and simplifying the consumer decision-making process. AI agents can personalise recommendations, compare alternatives in real time, and optimise outcomes based on consumer preferences and constraints.From a consumer behaviour perspective, this reflects bounded rationality, where consumers seek satisfactory rather than perfectly informed decisions. Agentic systems may reduce choice overload, improve decision efficiency, and create smoother experiences, particularly for low involvement purchases such as groceries, subscriptions, and household essentials.What this means for Indian consumersIndia presents fertile ground for agentic commerce because consumers are increasingly comfortable with digital payments, online marketplaces, and technology-enabled services. At the same time, Indian consumers remain highly value conscious and promotion sensitive. AI agents could strengthen smart shopping behaviour by enabling faster price comparisons and reducing information asymmetry between buyers and sellers. However, adoption may vary across categories. High involvement purchases such as travel, fashion, and premium products may continue to involve greater consumer participation because these decisions carry emotional and symbolic value.Why scepticism will remainTrust may become the defining challenge. Consumers may question whether AI agents truly represent their interests or are influenced by platform incentives and commercial partnerships. This concern connects to perceived manipulation, algorithmic transparency, and consumer autonomy.Marketing research has long shown that consumers value perceived control during decision making. Excessive automation may weaken this feeling and create resistance, even when outcomes appear efficient. Agentic commerce also introduces trust transfer, where confidence must extend not only to brands but also to the AI intermediary making recommendations.For marketers, this means moving beyond persuasion towards trust building, explainable personalisation, and transparent value delivery. Yet important questions remain unanswered: If AI makes a poor purchase decision, who is accountable? If algorithms become marketplace gatekeepers, how will brands earn visibility? And if consumers increasingly delegate choices, will convenience strengthen consumer welfare or quietly reshape consumer agency?The writer is Professor (Marketing), IMT GhaziabadPublished on July 13, 2026
