What is agentic commerce and how does it differ from generative AI?
Agentic AI executes multi-step shopping tasks autonomously, whilst generative AI responds to prompts. The distinction reshapes how fashion retailers think about commerce.
KEY TAKEAWAYS Summary by the editors
- Agentic AI plans and executes shopping workflows autonomously, whilst generative AI creates content in response to prompts.
- Alipay AI Pay processed over 120 million transactions in one week in February 2026, marking scaled deployment of agentic payments.
- commercetools launched AgenticLift in January 2026 to connect existing commerce systems to AI assistants without replatforming.
- McKinsey estimates agentic commerce could reach 3 to 5 trillion dollars globally by 2030.
Agentic commerce describes a model in which artificial intelligence agents autonomously discover, compare and purchase products on behalf of consumers, executing complete workflows with minimal human intervention. This differs fundamentally from generative AI, which creates content such as text or images in response to prompts but requires continuous direction from users. Whilst generative AI is reactive, agentic AI is proactive, planning multi-step processes and taking autonomous actions to achieve defined goals.
What is the difference between agentic AI and generative AI?
Generative AI is a reactive content creator that produces a single output in response to a prompt, whilst agentic AI is a proactive system that can independently plan and execute a series of steps to achieve a multi-step objective. Agentic AI makes decisions and takes action to keep a process going, whilst generative AI reacts to input and creates output.
Agentic AI builds on top of generative models, with most agentic systems using generative AI as their reasoning engine. The two are complementary: generative AI creates, agentic AI acts. Agentic AI excels with an initial set of instructions to autonomously manage multistep processes to achieve a larger objective with less human intervention.
| Dimension | Generative AI | Agentic AI |
|---|---|---|
| Core function | Creates content from prompts | Executes goal-oriented workflows |
| Interaction | Reactive | Proactive |
| Autonomy | Requires user direction for each step | Operates independently towards objectives |
| Use in commerce | Drafts product descriptions or summaries | Discovers, compares and purchases products |
How does agentic commerce work in practice?
Agentic commerce is the use of autonomous AI agents to research, compare and complete purchases on behalf of consumers or businesses, with minimal human input. Agentic commerce is the model where AI agents autonomously discover, compare and purchase products on behalf of consumers. The system relies on large language models and orchestration frameworks that enable AI agents to conduct multi-step reasoning across several stages.
A typical agentic commerce workflow involves the agent receiving a goal from the user, discovering and evaluating product options across multiple sources, applying decision logic based on parameters such as price or delivery, and executing the transaction through integrated payment systems. Autonomous purchasing is a commerce agent that has permission to complete transactions within the pre-approved parameters that the user sets.
What are the commercial examples of agentic commerce?
In January 2026, Alipay launched the Agentic Commerce Trust Protocol with partners, including Alibaba's consumer-facing AI application Qwen App and Taobao Instant Commerce. Alipay's AI Pay exceeded 120 million transactions in a single week between February 11 and 13, 2026, marking large-scale adoption of AI-executed payments. Qwen App became the first platform to adopt the Protocol, connecting with Taobao Instant Commerce and Alipay AI Pay. Users can simply chat with Qwen App's AI to place food and beverage orders directly within the App.
In January 2026, commercetools announced AgenticLift, its first standalone agentic offering designed to help businesses capture revenue from AI-driven shopping without replacing their existing commerce stack. It designed AgenticLift to let enterprises connect existing commerce systems to AI-driven shopping experiences without replatforming. It enables AI agents to access product data and transaction logic without replacing current systems. AgenticLift lets a company connect an existing commerce system to AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot without replatforming.
How significant is AI-driven shopping traffic?
AI-driven visits to US retail sites grew 693 per cent year-on-year during the 2025 holiday season, with 769 per cent growth in November and 673 per cent in December, according to Adobe Analytics. That momentum has continued into 2026: Q1 2026 saw plus 393 per cent year-on-year growth in AI-referred retail traffic, and July 2026 was up plus 62 per cent year-on-year, as AI moves from a seasonal spike to a structural referral channel.
AI-sourced traffic to US retail sites was up 89 per cent year-on-year during peak events like Prime Day 2026, and those visitors converted 40 per cent better than non-AI channels. However, growth comes off a small base: AI-driven sessions still account for under 0.2 per cent of total eCommerce traffic.
What is the market potential for agentic commerce?
McKinsey estimates the global agentic commerce opportunity could reach 3 trillion dollars to 5 trillion dollars by 2030. The US business-to-consumer retail market could see up to 1 trillion dollars in revenue orchestrated through agentic commerce by 2030. According to eMarketer, AI platforms are expected to account for 20.9 billion dollars in retail spending in 2026, nearly quadrupling 2025's figures.
A 2026 IBM Institute for Business Value study found that 45 per cent of consumers already use AI for at least part of the buying journey. Consumer adoption of agentic shopping is expected to jump from 19 per cent to 46 per cent by the end of 2026, according to the Braze Retail Customer Engagement Review. Retailers and brands are adapting their digital infrastructure to participate in this emerging channel.
What does agentic commerce mean for fashion retailers?
Shopping-related searches on generative AI platforms grew 4,700 per cent between 2024 and 2025, according to the McKinsey and Business of Fashion State of Fashion 2026 report. Artificial intelligence is already disrupting how consumers discover fashion. In the years ahead, autonomous AI shopping agents may even act on their behalf, completing tasks from monitoring prices to buying products. To ensure their products are visible to and favoured by AI models, brands must rethink their digital marketing and e-commerce infrastructures, where semantically rich data and API-accessible content will be critical to success.
Agentic shopping will move from a nice-to-have to a strategic must for fashion retailers in 2026. They should establish a generative AI strategy, build a modular commerce infrastructure, mobilise cross-functional teams and introduce agentic commerce capabilities. The operational focus for fashion businesses includes making product catalogues readable by AI agents through structured data, ensuring delivery and returns information is machine-accessible, and preparing checkout systems to integrate with agent-initiated transactions.
Frequently asked questions
Can agentic AI replace generative AI in retail?
No. Agentic AI builds on top of generative models. Most agentic systems use generative AI as their reasoning engine. The two are complementary: generative AI creates content such as product descriptions, whilst agentic AI acts by planning and executing shopping workflows.
How much commerce revenue could agentic AI generate by 2030?
McKinsey estimates the global agentic commerce opportunity could reach 3 trillion dollars to 5 trillion dollars by 2030, with up to 1 trillion dollars in the US business-to-consumer retail market alone. eMarketer expects AI platforms to account for 20.9 billion dollars in retail spending in 2026.
Which companies have launched agentic commerce products in 2026?
Alipay launched the Agentic Commerce Trust Protocol in January 2026 and its AI Pay service exceeded 120 million transactions in one week in February 2026. commercetools introduced AgenticLift in January 2026, enabling enterprises to connect existing commerce systems to AI assistants without replatforming.