Amazon just made headlines with the announcement of its new AI-powered shopping assistant, “Buy for Me“.
This agentic feature allows users to purchase products, even from third-party websites, directly through the Amazon Shopping app. If something isn’t available on Amazon, the agent searches the web, places the order, and completes the transaction.
It’s a bold step toward autonomous, goal-driven shopping.
Some shoppers will love the ease. No more jumping between sites or filling out checkout forms. Others may hesitate, unsure about handing over that much control to an AI agent (and Amazon). Either way, it’s a clear signal: agentic AI is here and it’s going to shape the future of commerce.
The feature is currently available to a limited set of beta users, with early feedback trending positive.
AI Agents in Retail are Gaining Momentum
AI-powered shopping assistants aren’t entirely new. In late 2024, Perplexity AI introduced a conversational assistant for open-web product research – helping users compare options, summarize reviews, and make better decisions. Similarly, OpenAI recently unveiled its Operator agent, showcasing use cases with platforms like eBay, Etsy, and Instacart.
But Amazon’s move is especially meaningful.
Amazon stands at the forefront of digital commerce. It’s one of the most prevalent commerce sites in the U.S. and a company that has consistently shaped how people shop online, from personalized recommendations to one click buy and retail media. As an AI pioneer, the company has long set the pace for digital experiences, so when Amazon embraces agentic AI, the rest of the industry pays attention.
What is Agentic Commerce?
Agentic commerce refers to the use of agentic AI in ecommerce, specifically, autonomous agents that act on behalf of the customer to accomplish a goal. But then, what are agents?
An AI agent is an autonomous system capable of setting goals, making decisions, and taking action without constant human input. Unlike traditional AI, which follows pre-set algorithms, often narrow in scope, agentic AI actively drives outcomes. More than simply processing information — it sets goals, makes decisions, and autonomously takes action to achieve specific business objectives. The term “agentic” comes from “agency,” meaning the ability to act independently. Agentic AI isn’t just reacting — it’s proactively solving problems.
Instead of simply responding to a specific query or request, agentic AI actively works toward defined goals — whether that’s resolving a customer issue before it escalates, improving enterprise search by delivering hyper-relevant, context-aware results, or in the case of agentic commerce, optimizing an ecommerce journey in real time.
What Amazon’s “Buy for Me” Signals About the Agentic AI Future
1. Agentic Commerce is Real and Already Solving Meaningful Problems
Amazon’s new agent shows that agent-based shopping is more than experimental, it’s real and it’s already delivering value. Rather than letting friction derail a purchase, Buy for Me steps in to complete it — preserving shopper intent and reducing abandonment, all while keeping the customer within Amazon’s ecosystem.
Interest in agentic AI is rising fast. Google Trends shows a clear uptick in attention, with the concept quickly gaining traction across industries.
But what makes Amazon’s agent so important is that it proves agentic commerce isn’t just theoretical, it’s ready to tackle concrete, high-impact problems.
Beyond Buy for Me, agentic commerce can address other persistent shopper pain points. For example:
- “Handle it for me” – AI agents can manage returns or request refunds, eliminating the need for long customer service calls.
- “Gift it for me” – Need a gift delivered by Friday? Just tell the agent the occasion and your budget — it will find the right option, purchase it, and schedule delivery.
2. Agentic Commerce Enhances (Not Replaces) the Shopping Experience
Importantly, this isn’t “buy me a jacket under $300 and decide for me.” In verticals like fashion, home, and beauty, the joy is in the journey – browsing, comparing, and curating are part of the appeal. Similarly in B2b for important decisions it’s critical to validate steps.
Shoppers want to stay in control. What they welcome is intelligent support. Buy for Me respects that- it activates post-decision, smoothing the path to purchase without flattening the experience.
3. Discovery is Getting Smarter
Agentic commerce isn’t exclusive to Amazon, Perplexity, or OpenAI.
Generative AI is top of mind for commerce leaders. In a recent Harvard Business Review report sponsored by Coveo and SAP, 70% of respondents said implementing AI beyond generative AI within their ecommerce operations is very or extremely important to their ecommerce strategy; 65% said the same about generative AI. Agentic AI is clearly an emerging and important trend.
And it’s not just hype — there are concrete opportunities to leverage Large Language Models (LLMs) for smarter, frictionless discovery journeys.
Coveo’s Generative Product Discovery, shows how any brand can bring agentic intelligence into the search and discovery stages of the customer journey.
Much like Amazon’s agent, which ventures beyond its own catalog — searching external sources, evaluating options, and returning with helpful recommendations and products — Generative Product Discovery connects to all relevant data sources, structured and unstructured, and reasons across them to support the shopper’s goal.
Think of it as “research for me” rather than “buy for me.” In both cases, the power lies in the ability to connect to sources, reason across them, and return with the guidance shoppers need to take action.
With generative product discovery, users can ask natural-language questions like “what type of sofa should I consider for a small living room?” and receive rich, grounded answers based on indexed content, FAQs, manuals, and intelligent product suggestions, both organic and sponsored.
The experience is best seen as an intent box that offers answers and products aligned to intent by accessing content, products, customer forums, sponsored listings, and more. It enhances discovery, combining conversational input with powerful search and discovery functionality. The result is an experience that helps users move forward confidently, without losing the richness of exploration.
The Future of Commerce is Agentic
Amazon’s “Buy for Me” is just the beginning.
Agentic commerce represents a powerful evolution where AI agents don’t just assist, they act. As more brands explore agentic frameworks and autonomous solutions, we’re moving toward a new era in ecommerce: one that’s more proactive, more intelligent, and more personalized than ever before.
It’s time to think beyond generative content and chatbots. The future of conversational AI lies in intelligent agents that can understand intent, connect the dots, and deliver real outcomes across the customer journey.