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At Profitero+, we’re getting a lot of questions about the rise of Agentic Commerce and how it will reshape the digital shelf. The short answer: the fundamentals of winning the purchase do not change—but new fundamentals are being added. Additionally, digital shelf performance can no longer be measured only within retailers. Brands now also need visibility into platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity, where consumers will be able to move from question to purchase in seconds.
We created this blog to share our perspective and outline how Profitero+ is helping to keep your brand ahead of this next wave. Let’s start with a lay of the land.
We’re entering the third major evolution of commerce.
We are early in this shift, but it is accelerating fast—and it will fundamentally reshape how brands influence demand.
Retailer-based AI agents
Tools like Amazon Rufus and Walmart Sparky already recommend products by answering natural-language questions such as:
These agents analyze entire catalogs, reviews and product attributes to surface the most qualified items. Over time, they’ll become even more personalized based on purchase history and preferences.
General-purpose AI platforms
Models like ChatGPT and Perplexity already answer millions of product-related queries. They are rapidly evolving to:
These tools will become the starting point for a growing share of shopping missions, much like Google Shopping became a source for many retailer and DTC referrals. For trends on how these platforms are being adopted, check out our recent webinar.
As the consumer discovery path is being re-written, agent-led shopping changes everything downstream:
Agents will eventually choreograph whole shopping missions—gift giving, pantry restocks, party prep—effortlessly and objectively. And wherever agents lead, shoppers follow.
Brands have spent years optimizing for human shoppers. Now they must optimize for agentic shoppers—AI systems that evaluate products differently. To win, products must meet a new set of machine-first requirements:
✔️ Trustworthy data
Agents favor products validated by: high-quality, authentic consumer reviews and third-party references (e.g., Reddit, blogs, expert reviews) over brand-written claims.
✔️ Consistent, complete content
Accurate, up-to-date, and syndicated everywhere.
✔️ Reliable fulfillment signals
Fast-shipping, low OOS risk, high operational reliability.
✔️ Low return rates
A critical signal of product satisfaction and suitability.
✔️ Clean, structured catalog data
Machine-readable attributes, specs, formats, and benefits.
✔️ Competitive pricing & value
Agents evaluate relative value instantly across retailers.
Agents answer prompts like: “What’s the best smartwatch for runners?” Only products whose PDPs, images, attributes and reviews clearly signal fitness for that need will show up. Updating PDPs with answers to real consumer questions—and adding full spec sheets via PDFs—is a fast, high-impact win.
Before investing heavily in AI commerce optimization, brands should conduct a strategic self-assessment to ensure they're prioritizing correctly and setting realistic expectations.
Consider these critical questions:
Not every brand needs to move at the same pace. Use this simple framework:
If you have determined you should act now, here are some tips for running test and learns.
As of today, there isn’t an industry-wide proven playbook for optimizing for Rufus, Sparky, ChatGPT and other AI Shopping agents. By proven, I mean something validated by sales data. So the best approach to take now is to test & learn using common sense and what’s easy to implement quickly.
To get started simply, we recommend the following steps:
The key is to avoid panic-driven action without a strategic framework relevant to your specific category and competitive position. Our Advisory team can help you assess where you fall and build an appropriate roadmap (contact us here!). If you are interested in learning more about the latest trends in AI, check out our upcoming and on-demand webinars:
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