AI shopping agents are coming to Australian retail

The Australian shopping experience is approaching a structural shift as consumers gain the ability to delegate purchasing decisions to artificial intelligence. Rather than browsing websites, comparing reviews and navigating checkout pages, consumers will increasingly ask AI agents to purchase goods on their behalf. This emerging model is known as agentic commerce or a-commerce.

Early pilot programmes already showcase how AI assistants can source products, compare prices, complete transactions and organise delivery through a single conversational interface. For time-poor consumers, and for those seeking the best value across comparable products, this represents a significant simplification of the online shopping journey.

Agentic commerce occurs when an AI system executes a purchase task on behalf of the user. In practice, this might involve asking an AI assistant to restock household essentials within a set budget and arrange home delivery. The AI then identifies suitable products, compares merchants, completes the purchase and coordinates logistics.

The defining feature is that users delegate decision-making, comparison and execution to the AI agent, substantially reducing friction and cognitive effort for the buyer.

Traditional e-commerce requires consumers to navigate advertising, multiple websites, reviews and price comparisons before making a purchase. A-commerce simplifies this journey into a single interaction, removing much of the traditional retail interface and enabling faster, frictionless transactions.

While e-commerce took decades to mature, a-commerce could evolve far more rapidly. Advances in Generative AI, integrated payments and sophisticated logistics networks mean much of the infrastructure already exists.

Globally, large technology and retail platforms are actively developing agentic shopping tools. In Australia, financial institutions are emerging as early leaders, building conversational platforms capable of executing transactions across multiple merchants. Some early products are expected to launch as soon as 2026.

As with any emerging technology, adoption will depend on trust. Some consumers remain cautious about data security, privacy and delegating spending decisions to AI systems.

However, convenience has historically proven a powerful driver of adoption. Millennials, who are already the most active e-commerce participants, appear particularly open to AI-enabled purchasing tools. As safeguards, transparency and user controls improve, broader adoption is likely.

For retailers, agentic commerce presents both opportunity and disruption. On one hand, reduced friction could increase transaction frequency. Similar behavioural effects were observed with the introduction of contactless “tap-and-go” payments, which simplified the spending process and encouraged greater usage.

However, product discovery may fundamentally change. Instead of optimising for human search behaviour through Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), retailers may need to optimise for AI recommendation systems, referred to as Agentic Engine Optimisation (AEO).

This shift could also weaken traditional marketing touchpoints. If AI agents handle transactions directly, merchants may lose access to valuable customer data such as email addresses, limiting established CRM strategies.

Not all retail property will be affected equally. If AI increasingly optimises purchases for price, availability and delivery speed, commoditised retail categories may rely less on physical storefronts. At the same time, experiential retail, including dining, wellness, beauty and entertainment is likely to become even more important in driving foot traffic.

Meanwhile, greater online purchasing activity will support demand for urban logistics infrastructure, including micro-fulfilment centres and last-mile distribution hubs located close to consumers. COVID-19 highlighted this cause-and-effect relationship when online demand was accelerated and resulted in record low vacancy in industrial markets.

Figure 1: Industrial warehouse take-up

Source: JLL data and NAB online Retail Sales Index Q126

Agentic commerce represents a structural shift in how consumers interact with markets. Algorithms may increasingly determine discovery, loyalty and conversion rather than human browsing.

Consumers gain time and efficient price comparisons. But the trade-off may be subtle as consumers outsource elements of judgement, taste and purchasing autonomy to an algorithm.