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AI-Powered E-Commerce: Meta’s Move into Agentic Commerce

AI-Powered E-Commerce: Meta’s Move into Agentic Commerce

Meta is preparing to revolutionize online shopping through AI-powered shopping agents, a concept it refers to as “agentic commerce.” With significant investments in AI tools, the company aims to enhance user experiences and increase advertising revenue.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that the company’s focus is shifting towards “agentic commerce.” Zuckerberg explained that this new approach would offer AI-powered shopping agents that help users find the right products based on their personal preferences and behaviors. These personalized AI agents will analyze Meta’s extensive user data, including past interactions, preferences, and social connections, to provide tailored product recommendations for each user.

Zuckerberg mentioned that Meta had rebuilt its AI infrastructure over the past year and would begin rolling out new models and products in the coming months. In his statement to investors, he said, “This year will be a big year for delivering personal superintelligence.” The company aims to go beyond traditional static product listings and search bars, with AI offering instant, personalized product recommendations for users.

Meta’s Strategy in the Competitive AI Shopping Space

Meta’s vision for AI-powered commerce is taking shape at a time when “agentic commerce” is gaining increasing attention in the tech world. OpenAI and Google have already introduced AI-powered shopping agents. OpenAI is enhancing shopping experiences with GPT-4, while Google has started integrating AI tools into its Search and Shopping platforms. Meta believes it has a unique advantage due to its access to vast user data, which enables the creation of even more personalized AI assistants.

In December 2025, Meta strengthened its position in this space by acquiring Manus, an AI agency developer. By integrating Manus technology, Meta plans to create shopping agents that interact with users across multiple platforms and ultimately transform product discovery into shopping.

Key Insights for Marketers About Meta’s AI Investment

Meta’s move toward “agentic commerce” raises important questions for marketers. As AI-powered shopping experiences gain momentum, brands may need to adjust their approach to advertising and product promotions on Meta platforms.

  • New shopping formats: Marketers should be prepared for new AI-powered shopping formats and adapt their product feeds and creative strategies to align with new conversational interfaces.
  • More granular ad targeting: With AI agents utilizing personal data, ads will become more contextual and tailored to real-time preferences. Brands may need to explore how to provide relevant data or signals to these agents.
  • AI-oowered product discovery: Just as SEO adapted to algorithmic curation, commerce brands may need to develop new strategies for AI-first product discovery.
  • Testing AI-driven tools: Meta plans to invest $135 billion in AI-related capital expenditures. Marketers should quickly test AI tools integrated with Meta’s Shops, Business Suite, and advertising platforms to understand how these tools work.

Meta’s focus on agentic commerce and AI-powered shopping tools promises to revolutionize e-commerce. This new personalized shopping experience will provide users with a more efficient shopping process while creating new opportunities and challenges for marketers in the digital world.

Agentic Commerce: The Future of AI Shopping

Sahibinden.com Integrates AI Technologies Under “sahiAI”; Natural Language Search Feature Introduced!

Türkiye’s leading classifieds, second-hand, and e-commerce marketplace, Sahibinden.com, has combined all of its AI-based products developed over eight years in its R&D center under the “sahiAI” brand. With sahiAI, a search feature has been developed that allows users to find listings in seconds using daily conversational language. This new feature is part of the AI advancements the company has gathered under the sahiAI brand.

Natural Language Search Now Available!

This innovation allows users to search for properties and vehicles using everyday expressions instead of complex filters. For example, users can now search using phrases like “apartment near the metro with a master bathroom” or “fuel-efficient, hybrid, white SUV.”

Previously, users had to select a series of filters to narrow down their searches, which was a time-consuming and complex process. However, with this new feature, the platform understands the user’s intent, significantly simplifying the process. The system does not just match words; it uses large language models in the background to understand the user’s intent, providing an experience similar to conversing with a real estate agent or car dealer.

“We Established the sahiAI Department with Over 300 Turkish Engineers”

Sahibinden.com CEO Burak Ertaş emphasized that this new technology was not sourced from external packages but was developed entirely in-house. Ertaş pointed out that the company made significant investments in research and development, establishing the sahiAI department with more than 300 Turkish engineers. He also highlighted that this local approach ensures the technology is more suitable for local needs and nuances, offering a more effective solution for Turkish users.

Ertaş stated, “AI is on everyone’s agenda, but there are not many companies that widely offer it in their products and services. Since our establishment, we have achieved many firsts. In 2000, we took the classifieds industry digital, and in 2011, we launched the first mobile app in our sector. While no one in Türkiye was talking about AI, we made it our company focus in 2018. Today, we are proud to bring all the AI products we have developed over the last eight years, which our users experience every day, under our umbrella brand, sahiAI.”

The Foundations of sahiAI Were Laid in 2018!

sahiAI is not just a search feature but the umbrella brand for a wide range of AI-based products, from visual recognition to natural language processing. The sahiAI product range was first established in 2018 with “Vehicle Recognition from Photos” and has since expanded to include products like Fotobot, which enhances the quality of listing images, Virtual Tour, which allows users to navigate through homes in 3D, and SahiDeko, which changes the decoration of a home in seconds. Now, with the addition of the AI-powered listing search feature, sahiAI offers an unparalleled experience to all users, developed entirely by Turkish engineers within Sahibinden.com.

As AI continues to shape the future of e-commerce and digital services, Sahibinden.com’s integration of natural language search positions the platform as a forward-thinking leader in the Turkish online marketplace.

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AI-Powered Search Is Expected to Influence €500 Billion in Retail E-Commerce by 2028

AI-powered search and discovery tools are expected to influence up to €500 billion in retail e-commerce by 2028. These tools have become an integral part of consumers’ product search and purchasing decisions through generative artificial intelligence. A new analysis published by Euromonitor International revealed that AI-based platforms have fundamentally transformed the ways in which brands are discovered, evaluated, and trusted in the online environment.

According to the “Euromonitor International Voice of the Consumer: Lifestyles Survey 2025,” more than half of global consumers use generative AI tools to obtain information and recommendations. This finding points to a structural transformation in digital commerce behavior.

From Search Results to AI-Powered Conversations

Rabia Yasmeen, global insight manager for e-commerce at Euromonitor International, stated that AI-powered search has created a deeper transformation than previous digital trends such as social commerce or livestream shopping. Yasmeen said that artificial intelligence is “reshaping how consumers discover brands, evaluate choices, and make online purchasing decisions.”

In traditional search models, visibility depended on search engine optimization, paid advertising, and retail media investments. However, in AI-generated responses, there is no guaranteed visibility slot, even for market leaders. Yasmeen emphasized that the impact has now shifted from “share of views” to “share of conversations.”

Euromonitor data show that this transformation will have a significant impact on the global e-commerce market and that the market is expected to exceed USD 595 billion by 2028.

Risk to Brand Visibility in AI-Powered Discovery

The analysis also points to significant risks for established brands. Euromonitor examined more than 8,700 brands operating in the US online skin care category and found that as consumer attention increasingly shifts toward AI-generated recommendations, up to half of existing brands could face the risk of a gradual loss of relevance over time.

In traditional digital shopping journeys, strong brands benefited from advantages such as scale, advertising budgets, and category placement. In AI-powered responses, however, visibility changes dynamically depending on the user’s context and query. This situation creates opportunities not only for established brands but also for new and smaller players.

Yasmeen noted that while this shift involves risks, it also makes the emergence of new winners possible. She said that brands offering product relevance, clear positioning, and trustworthy signals could stand out in AI-generated responses.

Faster Decisions, Shorter Shopping Journeys

AI-powered search is also significantly shortening the online shopping journey. Traditionally, consumers went through many stages such as searching, browsing category pages, reading reviews, and comparing alternatives. According to Euromonitor, in AI-mediated interactions these steps often merge into a single conversation.

Consumers now ask questions in natural language instead of browsing product listings and expect short, context-aware answers. While this reduces friction in shopping, it concentrates the decision-making process largely on outputs provided by artificial intelligence.

Euromonitor concluded that retailers and brands need to rethink their digital strategies in order to remain visible in AI-powered environments. According to the report, future competitiveness will depend less on traditional ranking tactics and more on how well brands align with consumer intent, context, and trust signals.

UAE-Based Yozo.ai Raised USD 1.7 Million in Pre-Seed Funding to Develop an AI-Powered E-Commerce Revenue Engine

UAE-based startup Yozo.ai raised USD 1.7 million in pre-seed funding to develop an AI-powered revenue engine for e-commerce sellers. The round was co-led by Access Bridge Ventures and Disruptech Ventures, while a number of regional venture capital funds and angel investors also participated in the round.

Founded in early 2025, Yozo.ai develops an AI agent that autonomously manages email, WhatsApp, and SMS campaigns for online retailers. The company announced that it will use the new investment to support product development and its goals of expanding into markets outside the Middle East.

Investors Supported the AI-Native Approach

The investment round was completed under the co-leadership of Access Bridge Ventures and Disruptech Ventures. Arzan VC, Oraseya Capital, Plus VC, Suhail Ventures, Glint Ventures, and M-Empire Angels also participated in the round.

Issa Aghabi of Access Bridge Ventures stated that the Yozo.ai team demonstrated strong execution capability and stood out with its approach of practically integrating artificial intelligence into daily e-commerce workflows. Aghabi expressed that the company has the potential to build a scalable and meaningful platform in this field.

The strong interest from regional investors revealed growing demand for AI-based commerce solutions developed for sellers operating in digital markets characterized by fragmentation and intense competition.

An Autonomous Growth Agent Is Being Built

Yozo.ai positions itself as an “AI growth agent” rather than a traditional marketing software. After sellers connect their e-commerce accounts to the system, they approve campaigns, and the system autonomously carries out marketing activities across email, WhatsApp, and SMS channels.

The company stated that its technology takes on tasks such as segmentation, timing, experimentation, and performance optimization, which are typically handled by growth and customer retention teams. In this way, it aims to reduce the need for specialized teams that are costly or difficult to find, particularly for small and medium-sized e-commerce businesses.

Yozo.ai founder Hossam Ali said that conversion and retention marketing involves many variables such as data, timing, and continuous optimization, and that most teams struggle to manage this complexity in a sustainable way. Ali emphasized that Yozo.ai was designed to take on this complexity and operate continuously without manual intervention.

Yozo.ai’s Global Growth Targets

With the new investment it has received, the company aims to build an AI-native revenue engine that automates customer retention and revenue growth processes in a scalable manner. Yozo.ai identified global e-commerce markets where growth teams are expensive, overly manual, or difficult to hire as its primary targets.

Initially focusing on the Middle East, Yozo.ai announced that it has international expansion plans to also serve sellers in other regions facing similar operational challenges. The company aims to become the “default revenue engine” for digital sellers by closing the gap between users who show purchase intent but do not complete a transaction and actual buyers.

Yozo.ai argues that this gap leads to a significant amount of revenue remaining uncaptured in the e-commerce sector. By establishing automated customer engagement at the right time and through the right channel, it states that conversion and customer loyalty rates can be increased in a meaningful way.

The pre-seed investment round is considered an important milestone in Yozo.ai’s transition from the product development stage to broader market adoption. While the company did not share details regarding revenue or customer numbers, it stated that the investment will be used primarily for engineering, data infrastructure, and expansion into new markets.

eBay Banned AI Shopping Agents; Opened the Door to Approved Bots

eBay announced that as of February 2026 it will ban artificial intelligence–powered shopping agents from operating on the platform.

eBay’s decision was taken at a time when, with the rapid spread of AI-based commerce tools in the retail sector, marketplaces are reassessing the impact of automated buyers on human customers and existing business models. This policy change was announced via an email sent to eBay users. The platform had previously taken technical steps aimed at limiting automated access.

New Rules Against Autonomous Shopping Bots

eBay stated that as of 20 February 2026, chatbots, large language model–based agents and other automated systems will be explicitly prohibited from placing bids or completing purchase transactions on the auction platform unless prior permission is obtained. The updated user agreement clearly defined that “automated means” used to access services cannot be used without explicit approval from eBay.

The update also expanded the scope of existing provisions that restrict robots, scrapers and other automated tools from accessing eBay services. In addition, with changes made to the platform’s robots.txt file, it was emphasized that checkout processes are reserved exclusively for human users.

Although the robots.txt protocol cannot technically prevent all bot access, the updated user agreement provided eBay with a legal basis against unauthorized AI activities. The company stated that it took this step in order to protect the integrity of the marketplace and to maintain a fair competitive environment for human buyers.

Pressure From Agentic Commerce Increased

The ban decision came at a time when new shopping models referred to as agentic commerce have begun to be rapidly tested in the technology sector. These models envision consumers delegating product discovery and purchasing decisions to software agents instead of directly visiting websites.

Conversational AI platforms such as ChatGPT have begun to integrate early-stage commerce features that enable direct purchases from certain e-commerce sites. Similarly, Perplexity offers one-click checkout options for paid users, while Google is working on a Universal Commerce Protocol aimed at standardizing how shopping agents interact with retailers.

Amazon is also testing features that allow users to purchase products from external brands directly within its own application. However, it has also been reported that Amazon has taken legal steps to prevent unauthorized AI agents from operating on its own marketplace. This situation points to growing concerns across the industry regarding uncontrolled automation.

eBay Takes a Cautious Approach

While eBay’s updated user agreement introduced a clear ban, it also pointed to a more selective future. By stating that certain AI-based entities may operate on the platform if prior approval is obtained, the company implied that tightly controlled agents could be allowed in the future.

eBay CEO Jamie Iannone had previously indicated that the company could participate in OpenAI’s Instant Checkout program. Iannone also stated that eBay is experimenting with its own agentic shopping experiences.

This dual approach showed that eBay is not completely rejecting AI-powered commerce, but instead wants to strictly control how and when it is deployed. Experts noted that this cautious stance is largely rooted in eBay’s auction-based business model, as automated bidding systems carry the risk of disrupting price dynamics.

Economic and Operational Concerns

One of eBay’s main concerns was economic. The platform charges a variable “final value fee” on sales and earns more revenue from higher-priced transactions. Autonomous agents focused on securing the lowest possible price could win auctions at lower amounts, leading to reduced selling prices and potential revenue loss for eBay.

There are also operational risks. Fully automated agents could generate heavy traffic on servers, straining infrastructure. In addition, since such agents would not respond to cross-selling or promotional efforts aimed at human users, seller engagement and advertising effectiveness could decline.

Trust and safety issues also came to the forefront. For eBay, which continues to combat counterfeit goods and unsafe sales, monitoring autonomous purchasing systems and assigning responsibility could become more complex.

Industry-Wide Debate

The decision became part of a broader debate on how agentic artificial intelligence should be integrated into e-commerce. Proponents foresee a future in which AI agents anticipate consumer needs, evaluate options, negotiate prices and complete transactions independently. Consulting firms such as McKinsey are already highlighting such multi-step, autonomous shopping scenarios.

Critics, however, argue that this approach could reduce direct consumer interaction with websites, weakening brand visibility, product discovery and upselling opportunities. In this case, retailers may be forced to develop new machine-to-machine systems alongside interfaces designed for human users.

A Controlled Path Forward

By banning unauthorized AI shopping agents while not fully closing the door to approved uses, eBay adopted a controlled agentic commerce approach. The company acknowledged that automation could play a role in the future, but made it clear that this should occur under conditions that protect marketplace fairness, revenue balance and user trust.

As AI-powered shopping tools continue to evolve, eBay’s decision stood out as an important example of how large marketplaces are attempting to strike a delicate balance between innovation and control.

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A Large Portion of E-Commerce Brands Are Deploying AI-Powered Shopping Agents

According to research conducted by Pattern Group, AI-powered search and shopping agents are rapidly reshaping the e-commerce economy. Pattern Group research revealed that AI-focused product discovery and purchasing tools are changing consumer behavior and leading brands to reassess their customer acquisition, marketing, and operational approaches.

According to the study based on a survey conducted with 1,000 senior business leaders operating in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates, the use of AI-powered shopping agents has moved beyond the testing phase and reached an active implementation level in many organizations.

Customer Acquisition Costs Are Decreasing, Adoption Is Increasing

Pattern Group’s research showed that 76 percent of e-commerce organizations have reduced customer acquisition costs as consumers increasingly turn to AI-powered tools in product discovery and purchasing processes. One third of the companies participating in the survey stated that they have already integrated AI-powered shopping agents into their operations.

Pattern Chief Technology Officer Ryan Byrd said that AI agents are no longer an interface of the future but have become a new operational layer of commerce. Byrd stated that brands that treat agentic AI merely as a marketing channel face the risk of falling behind.

According to the research, AI-powered systems bring forward brands that are based on clean data infrastructure, real-time operations, and tangible customer value.

Confidence in AI-Powered Sales Growth Is Increasing

As consumers increasingly use AI tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini in their purchasing decisions, confidence in the commercial impact of artificial intelligence is also increasing. Eighty-seven percent of survey respondents stated that they expect AI-powered search and shopping tools to drive direct sales growth over the next 12 months.

This expectation was associated with consumers turning to conversational AI and intelligent search systems to compare products, evaluate value, and make purchasing decisions. For brands, this transformation reduces dependence on paid advertising channels while increasing the importance of structured product data and AI compatibility.

AI Investments Are Accelerating

Alongside increasing adoption, investments in artificial intelligence in the e-commerce sector have also gained momentum. According to the research, companies invested an average of 291,626 US dollars in AI last year. This amount is expected to increase by 11 percent to 323,886 US dollars in 2026 as brands prioritize AI-powered customer service, personalized advertising, and intelligent product discovery.

The study revealed that AI spending is increasingly being seen as a core operational investment rather than an optional innovation budget. Companies are focusing on integrating AI into daily workflows such as inventory optimization, customer engagement, and sales processes.

The Rise of Agentic Commerce

The research also revealed the rapid rise of a commerce model defined as agentic commerce, which is based on autonomous or semi-autonomous AI agents acting on behalf of consumers. According to the findings, 57 percent of e-commerce businesses are exploring AI agent use cases, while 33 percent are actively preparing for deployment.

Differences by sector drew attention. The fashion sector took a leading position in adoption and readiness levels. Forty-six percent of fashion brands stated that they are prepared for AI agents to become a primary channel in customer discovery and purchasing processes. In the beauty sector, 59 percent of brands are exploring AI agents, while only 27 percent stated that they are fully ready.

These differences showed that interest in agentic commerce is widespread, but the level of operational readiness varies by sector.

Strategic Implications for E-Commerce Brands

Pattern Group’s research revealed that AI-powered shopping agents have become a structural element of e-commerce rather than a short-term trend. With the acceleration of adoption, brands are facing increasing pressure to ensure product data accuracy, system interoperability, and consumer trust in transactions carried out through artificial intelligence.

The research showed that companies that invest early in agentic AI and ensure operational integration are highly likely to achieve cost advantages and competitive superiority as AI-powered commerce continues to grow on a global scale.

PayPal Is Acquiring Cymbio to Expand Its Agentic Commerce Capabilities

PayPal announced that it has agreed to acquire the multi-channel commerce orchestration platform Cymbio in a move aimed at accelerating its agentic commerce strategy.

PayPal’s decision to acquire Cymbio was built on the existing partnership between the two companies. This step aims to enable merchants to sell more effectively across artificial intelligence–powered shopping environments and traditional e-commerce channels. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Agentic Commerce Is Being Strengthened

PayPal stated that this acquisition would increase its capacity to support the agentic commerce model, in which artificial intelligence–powered interfaces play an active role in product discovery, purchasing, and payment processes. Cymbio’s technology enables brands to distribute and manage their product catalogs across multiple digital touchpoints, including emerging AI-based shopping surfaces.

Michelle Gill, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Small Business and Financial Services at PayPal, said that PayPal is positioned as a key commerce partner for merchants looking to sell on leading artificial intelligence platforms. Gill stated that bringing Cymbio’s technology and team into PayPal would accelerate the scaling of agentic commerce services to a broader merchant base.

PayPal’s agentic commerce services and payment solutions are currently available for merchants selling through Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity. The company confirmed that these capabilities would soon be expanded to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini platform as well.

The Role of Cymbio Within PayPal

Following the acquisition, Cymbio’s team and technology are expected to support Store Sync, one of PayPal’s core agentic commerce services. Store Sync ensures that merchants’ product data is discoverable across artificial intelligence–powered shopping channels while also maintaining operational continuity.

Through Store Sync, merchants are able to route orders directly to their existing fulfillment, inventory, and order management systems. PayPal emphasized that merchants will continue to remain the merchant of record, retain ownership of customer relationships, and maintain control over their brands.

Brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Fabletics, Ashley Furniture, Newegg, and Adorama were actively using Store Sync integrations on Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity at the time of the announcement.

Expanding Multi-Channel Access for Merchants

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Tel Aviv, Cymbio offers a platform specialized in multi-channel commerce orchestration. The platform automates complex processes such as product data management, inventory synchronization, order routing, and billing across marketplaces, retailers, social commerce platforms, and artificial intelligence–powered shopping experiences.

PayPal stated that Cymbio’s more than a decade of experience in brand integration and marketplace connectivity would strengthen its own commerce ecosystem. By reducing operational friction and providing merchants with a unified view of sales channels, this integrated structure aims to help brands expand their reach, increase efficiency, and adapt to changing consumer shopping behaviors.

This acquisition also aligns with PayPal’s strategy to assume a central role in the next-generation commerce model, in which artificial intelligence agents are becoming increasingly influential in consumers’ product discovery and purchasing decisions.

Strategic Context and Market Position

PayPal emphasized that agentic commerce represents a significant transformation in digital retail as artificial intelligence platforms become more central to consumer decision-making processes. With the integration of Cymbio’s orchestration technology, PayPal aims to enable merchants to participate in these new sales channels without compromising control over fulfillment, brand presentation, or customer data.

The company stated that, thanks to its global scale operating in approximately 200 markets, it is able to provide merchants with consistent payment, checkout, and commerce services as new sales surfaces emerge. The acquisition was positioned as a step toward making artificial intelligence–powered commerce more accessible and operationally viable for businesses of different sizes.

The parties announced that the transaction is expected to be finalized in the first half of 2026 following the completion of regulatory approvals and other standard closing conditions. Until completion, PayPal and Cymbio are planned to continue operating under their existing partnership structure.

Once the acquisition is completed, PayPal is expected to further deepen its agentic commerce infrastructure and strengthen its role in supporting merchants as artificial intelligence–powered platforms become an increasingly important channel in global online shopping.

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Getnet Announced Its Agentic Commerce Strategy

Global payments fintech Getnet shared its agentic commerce strategy with the public at a time when artificial intelligence was expected to influence a significant portion of global e-commerce transactions by the end of the decade. The company stated that autonomous artificial intelligence agents would take an active role in purchasing and payment decisions and that this would require fundamental changes in payment infrastructures.

According to Deloitte-based market estimates cited by Getnet, which operates under UK-based Santander, up to 30 percent of global e-commerce transaction volume would be directed by agentic artificial intelligence by 2030. It was stated that this ratio corresponded to approximately 17.5 trillion US dollars in gross merchandise value. This transformation meant a transition from transactions initiated by humans to systems managed end to end by autonomous software agents.

Preparing Payment Infrastructure for Agent Commerce-Focused Transactions

Getnet emphasized that agentic commerce would have direct effects on the payments sector and that infrastructures needed to become capable of securely processing transactions initiated by artificial intelligence agents rather than individual users. The company’s strategy was based on adapting its existing global acquiring platform to these new requirements.

At the center of this approach was the unified API solution Single Entry Point (SEP), which enabled integration across multiple countries and supported built-in security and regulatory compliance. While Getnet stated that SEP already supported agent-initiated transactions, it announced that it was developing new capabilities specifically for agentic commerce on top of this.

Within this scope, it was stated that work was being carried out on mechanisms for the identification and validation of artificial intelligence agents, standardized APIs for capturing agent-originated payments, and interoperability solutions with industry protocols. Getnet conveyed that these steps aimed to ensure trust, traceability, and control in the agentic commerce ecosystem.

Transition to Agentic Commerce for Merchants

Getnet positioned itself as a strategic business partner rather than an experimental technology provider for merchants preparing for agentic commerce. The company stated that its platform was designed to support both large-scale companies with advanced digital infrastructures and SMEs seeking ready-to-use solutions.

It was stated that by offering standard tools and APIs, the goal was to enable merchants to participate in the agentic commerce ecosystem without the need for complex internal technology projects. According to Getnet, this approach offered a structure that could increase adoption speed as artificial intelligence agents began to take on product discovery, negotiation, and payment processes.

Getnet Global CEO Juan Franco described agentic commerce as “a turning point in terms of digital transactions.” Franco said that artificial intelligence had moved beyond observing the customer journey and had begun to direct this journey through autonomous agents; and that product discovery, deal-making, and payment transactions were carried out on behalf of customers. Franco stated that Getnet’s vision was to transform its merchant acquisition, risk management, and data capabilities into an open and intelligent platform, enabling merchants to manage artificial intelligence agents as easily as they manage human customers today.

Getnet Ranked Among the World’s Top 10 Merchant Acquirers

Getnet emphasized that it supported its focus on agentic commerce with its scale and position in the global payments sector. According to The Nilson Report, the company ranked among the world’s top 10 merchant acquirers and positioned itself as the number one acquirer in Latin America in terms of transaction volume.

Getnet attributed this position to the trust of millions of merchants, its payment and financing solutions for SMEs, and its infrastructure that brought large-scale companies together with multiple payment methods on a single and secure platform. Operating across Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula, the company stated that it offered a structure strengthened by Santander’s scale, technology, and expertise.

At a time when agentic artificial intelligence continued to assume a more central role in commerce, Getnet positioned its strategy as a long-term investment aimed at adapting payment infrastructure to a future in which autonomous systems were decisive in global trade.

Shopify Introduces Universal Commerce Protocol in Partnership with Google

Shopify has introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), a new open standard that will enable the scaling of AI-powered “agentic” shopping. Developed in collaboration with Google, this protocol allows AI agents to connect with any merchant and facilitate transactions. Through UCP, Shopify sellers will be able to make direct sales on Google Search and the Gemini app.

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, and Shopify accelerated their efforts to facilitate AI-based “agentic” shopping significantly at the National Retail Federation’s annual conference on Sunday. At NRF 2026, Shopify and Google introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol, a new open standard for AI agents to connect and transact with any merchant. With Universal Commerce Protocol, AI agents can complete payment transactions on behalf of a customer.

“Potential Benefit for Google and Shopify”

Analyst Justin Patterson anticipates potential benefits from the UPC standard for both Google and Shopify: “For Google, this announcement reinforces its historical strength with retailers and the momentum in AI. Google has a long history of helping retailers navigate technological change. Google’s Shopping Graph, introduced in 2021, lists over 50 billion products, providing a rich set of data that can be discovered via the core Search experience and the Gemini app. For Shopify, UCP extends agentic partnerships and offers more ways to engage with merchants.”

In September, Google announced a new Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) developed with 60 industry partners. AP2 is also designed to address authorization, authentication, and accountability in agentic payments. To provide secure commerce for AI agents, it is supported by cryptographically signed digital contracts.

Building Agentic Shopping Ecosystems

At NRF 2026, Google also introduced new retail tools for deploying AI agents that help shoppers locate items and provide customer support. Google named these agentic AI tools “Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience.” These tools are offered through Google’s cloud computing platform and are used by retailers such as Lowe’s, Kroger, and Papa Johns.

Additionally, Shop ify announced new agentic AI initiatives. In October, AI pioneer OpenAI revealed that its ChatGPT app would enable direct purchases from Shop ify, Etsy, and other online sellers. In a similar deal, Shopify stated that its merchants would be able to sell directly in Google Search’s “AI Mode” and the Gemini app. Furthermore, Shopify announced plans to work with Microsoft on agentic AI online payment features. Last week, Microsoft, in collaboration with partners such as PayPal Holdings (PYPL) and Stripe, introduced a series of AI-powered agentic commerce tools.

As part of its strategy, the software company will open its Shop ify Catalog and infrastructure to brands on other platforms. This will allow brands that do not use Shop ify for their online stores to list their products on Shopify Catalog and present them to AI channels.

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