For two decades, search has driven ecommerce. Whether through Google, Amazon, or on\u2011site, the sequence was simple: a shopper types a query, compares results, and makes a purchase. Search engine marketing, organic and paid, enhanced performance.<\/p>\n
That model is evolving.<\/p>\n
Generative AI “agents” can now help shoppers compare products, prices, and options, often in a single conversational step. Shoppers initiate the interactions; agents then search relevant sites and respond based on the query, past preferences, and purchase history.<\/p>\n
“Agentic” refers to autonomous systems that can independently act and decide. Agentic shopping uses AI agents \u2014\u00a0 ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude \u2014 to guide the buying journey for a user. Think of it as a personal shopping assistant that interprets a request, searches multiple retailers, and surfaces relevant product and price options.<\/p>\n
Retailgentic, the Substack publication of ReFiBuy, a soon-to-launch agentic tool provider, recently published<\/a> its test of Comet, Perplexity’s AI-driven browser:<\/p>\n Shopper: This bed set is pretty expensive, but I like it. Can you find it cheaper?<\/em><\/p>\n Comet: I searched for a better price on the Allied Home Down Alternative XLT Dorm Kit (comforter, pillow, and mattress pad, Twin XL) and it is still listed at $84.99 at Target \u2014 the standard price for this exact bundled set. I didn’t find this specific 3\u2011piece kit for less elsewhere.<\/em><\/p>\n However, other retail sites (like Kohl’s and Macy’s) offer Twin XL bedding pieces or comforter sets individually.<\/em><\/p>\n Instead of hopping from site to site, the shopper gets an answer in one dialog.<\/p>\n Shoppers are warming to AI shopping, though unevenly by age. A February 2025 New Consumer survey (PDF<\/a>) of approximately 3,000 U.S. residents found that 64% of Gen Zs (ages late 20s to early 40s) and Millennials (mid-teens to late 20s) are “very” or “somewhat” comfortable interacting with an AI shopping advisor, versus 40% for Gen Xs (mid 40s to early 60s).<\/p>\n AI platforms are capitalizing:<\/p>\nWhy It Matters<\/h3>\n
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