Perhaps this will soon be a thing of the past: AI agents can shop almost autonomously.Image: Shutterstock
December 26, 2025, 08:01December 26, 2025, 08:01
Europe’s consumers will see a major innovation in online retail in 2026: the introduction of AI agents who can carry out shopping orders, holiday bookings and the like largely independently.
“We will see the first pilot next year,” says Pascal Beij, Chief Commercial Officer at payment service provider Unzer. AI providers, large US technology companies, credit card companies, but also travel and other online portals are making preparations. “That will definitely happen.”
In the tech industry, the further development is called “agentic AI”. But how does this differ from the usual generative AI? Currently, ChatGPT and other AI models answer questions and generate text, images and sound at the direction of their users. In online shopping, the functions have so far been largely limited to answering questions and providing help with product searches.
AI agents can shop almost autonomously
AI purchasing agents, on the other hand, will also be able to order and pay, including time-consuming tasks. An example: planning a family vacation by booking flights, hotels and train tickets. “Technically, this will work in such a way that the user will have to deposit their payment details with the respective company, but will always have to give the final “go” for the payment to be approved,” says Beij.
Agentic AI could have a market share of 20 to 30 percent in online retail in three to five years. “It is completely unclear whether and who will become dominant in the end,” says Beij. One company that has completed its preparations is a major international power in payment technology: the US company Visa, best known as a credit card issuer. «We have already carried out hundreds of transactions in the USA. This will happen in Germany and Europe over the next year,” says Germany boss Tobias Czekalla.
He compares the innovation to the start of e-commerce in the 1990s. “We are now on the threshold of the next revolution,” says the manager. “This is the first time in history that machines are shopping for people.” However, people always have the last word: “If, for example, a train ticket or a hotel suddenly becomes more expensive, customers are made aware of this again.”
Customers are skeptical
In surveys, however, many consumers have so far been more than just skeptical. In a survey by the retail research institute IFH, 60 percent of those surveyed said that they could imagine having support from an AI shopping agent when shopping. However, only nine percent would let AI handle the entire purchase process, including payment.
If retail and the financial sector want to help AI purchasing agents achieve a breakthrough, they must overcome this negative attitude. “The key point is trust,” says Visa Germany boss Czekalla. “Customers need to know that this works simply, safely and reliably.”
Prevention against manipulation
Accordingly, Visa and other providers take extensive security precautions. Both consumers and retailers want to be convinced that AI is not playing tricks. Visa, for example, checks every AI agent, as Czekalla says. And the operators of online shops and portals want to make sure that there is really a human behind the AI agent making the purchase. “By exchanging cryptographic keys, we ensure that no malicious bots are at work.”
The use of agentic AI will naturally not be limited to retail or tourism. “This is of course not only suitable for private customers, but also for companies’ B2B business,” says Czekalla. It is a given in the IT world that AI agents will take on a wide range of tasks in completely different industries in the future, from production planning in a factory to securities trading.
According to the payment service provider Unzer, it is not only large corporations that will benefit from this development in retail. “The use of Agentic AI offers medium-sized companies the great opportunity to be seen in online retail without a huge advertising budget,” says Beij.
“To do this, the website must be optimized for AI-driven search engines: the product descriptions should be very precise and detailed. The better the product description, the easier it is to be found.” The reviews and contributions on discussion forums such as Reddit also inspire- “Objectivity will play a larger role. AI can therefore function as a kind of trust pilot in purchasing.”
Hesitant traders could come under the wheels
The development will change both the customer and retail side, says Bernd Ohlmann, spokesman for the Bavarian Trade Association in Munich. “AI is a huge opportunity for small and large companies alike.” However, in Ohlmann’s opinion, this is an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed: “If you don’t jump on the bandwagon, you can quickly come under the wheels and lose customers and therefore sales.”
Artificial intelligence has already changed shopping behavior, comparison portals and search engines are becoming less important. The survey by the retail research institute IFH Cologne shows: Around two thirds of consumers see advantages such as time savings and better recommendations in using AI chatbots. Almost half are convinced that they can find better prices and offers this way.
AI providers as shopping portals?
“With ChatGPT and Co., new competitors are emerging who want to capture product searches and convert them directly into purchases,” says IFH expert Ralf Deckers. “As a result, online shops end up in the role of shelf space that is simply walked through in search of products.” Deckers sees the biggest hurdle in storing payment data: “Many people don’t want to hand the wallet to the AI, but rather make the final purchase decision themselves.” However, according to a survey by the digital industry association Bitkom, the younger generation is less skeptical: According to this, 43 percent of 16 to 29 year olds would let the AI do their shopping alone. (sda/dpa/cst)