Is e-commerce dead? How will AI agency take over global consumer decision-making power and rewrite business rules?

The era of AI shopping agents is about to arrive. From searching, price comparison, payment to placing orders, these processes that once required human completion one by one are now being fully taken over by artificial intelligence. Tech giants and payment behemoths are joining forces to create a brand new "agent commerce" world, which not only will disrupt e-commerce logic but may also fundamentally change people's consumption behavior and business strategies.

From "Search Checkout" to "Verbal Notification": The Rapid Development of AI Shopping Agents

Mohamed ElSeidy, the R&D director of Alliance Dao, tweeted that while traditional e-commerce has greatly reduced shopping friction, it still relies on human operation: "searching for products, comparing prices, making decisions, and filling out payment information."

Nowadays, AI agents (AI agents) are rising as the next generation of consumers, capable of automatically searching, making decisions, and processing payments based on instructions.

Currently, AI functions such as OpenAI's Operator, Perplexity's PayPal integration, and Amazon's Nova Act can complete the entire shopping process without human intervention. Consumers only need to input simple commands, such as "Help me buy ingredients for an Italian dinner for six," and the AI can independently fill the shopping cart and make the payment.

Who enables AI to make payments? Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe are building the next generation of payment infrastructure.

In order for AI to truly possess "consumer power," traditional payment networks are also undergoing a deep transformation:

Stripe launches Agent Toolkit: allowing developers to create one-time virtual cards for AI, setting amounts and usage limits. Integrates with platforms like OpenAI, LangChain, and Vercel AI.

Visa launches Payment Passkeys: tokenizing payment credentials and adding controls such as spending limits and category restrictions.

Mastercard releases Agent Pay: introducing "Agent Identity Verification," where only registered and verified AIs can execute transactions.

These infrastructures allow AI to securely represent users in making payments, while reducing the risks of fraud or erroneous operations.

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In terms of the technology stack, it operates with three major technology layers: the "AI layer, payment layer, and security layer," creating an automated and secure consumption system for agency business.

Who is responsible? The trust dilemma and accountability under AI procurement

When an agent buys the wrong item or exceeds the instructions, who should be responsible? Mohamed admits that there is no consensus in the industry yet, but the following mechanisms are gradually being established:

Confirmation Threshold: Non-typical or high-value transactions require additional verification.

Transaction Audit Chain: Using blockchain to bind user instructions with purchasing behavior for easy tracking and complaints.

Duplicate Detection System: Prevent technical failures from causing duplicate transactions.

Currently, the overall trend is moving towards "users taking responsibility within a specific scope, but providing more protection mechanisms."

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The Important Role of Agents in the Business Revolution: Stablecoins

Stablecoins such as USDC have been incorporated into payment options by Visa, Stripe, and others. The combination of cryptocurrencies with the characteristics of smart contracts makes it easier for AI to perform automated payment and authorization operations:

However, such an automated process still carries the risk of vulnerabilities, so it still relies on trust frameworks like Mastercard Agent Pay and related measures to ensure security.

SEO is dead, AEO is the way: Let AI find your products

In the era of AI-driven consumption, traditional SEO ( search engine optimization ) will give way to "AEO ( agent engine optimization )." If products cannot be recognized, understood, and recommended by agents, it will be like being invisible in the future internet.

SEO vs AEO

In this regard, Mohamed emphasized that companies should: "provide structured data such as uses, specifications, and prices," and "make product descriptions 'sound like answers.'"

Opportunities for entrepreneurship are emerging: agents will not take away jobs, but rather create new industries.

For entrepreneurs, he believes that AI agents in the business economy will release diverse opportunities, including:

Vertical agents: such as health benefits agents ( who help users refill prescriptions, check insurance ), nutrition shopping assistants ( who purchase ingredients based on allergies and budget ), delivery assistants ( who help you find fast and tasty restaurants ).

Seller Optimization Tools: Such as AEO Optimization Platform, Agent Traffic Analysis Tools, help merchants understand whether AI has recommended them to consumers.

Physical store transformation devices: such as AR smart glasses and in-store voice assistants, helping customers make shopping decisions in real time.

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It's not just an upgrade of e-commerce, but a reconstruction of consumption methods.

The shift from shopping to browsing websites is a key factor in the birth of e-commerce. Nowadays, AI has transformed the entire process from "assistance" to "full agency," which is seen as the most disruptive change in the retail industry, further reducing friction and human choice in shopping. And now, the infrastructure for this transformation has gradually been put in place:

A payment network tailored for AI agents, along with a complete set of specialized tools and services, forms a new emerging ecosystem. In this entirely new form, shopping behavior is no longer just digitalized but is thoroughly restructured.

Is e-commerce dead? How can AI agents take over global consumer decision-making and rewrite business rules? Originally appeared in Chain News ABMedia.