Shopping assistant AI is expected to go shopping itself from 2026
Europe's consumers will be faced with a major innovation in online retail in 2026: the introduction of AI agents that can handle shopping orders, vacation bookings and the like largely autonomously.
26.12.2025, 04:59
28.12.2025, 10:28
SDA
"We will see the first pilot next year," says Pascal Beij, Chief Commercial Officer at payment service provider Unzer. Preparations are being made by AI providers, large US technology groups, credit card companies, as well as travel and other online portals, among others. "This will definitely happen."
In the tech industry, this further development is known as "agentic AI". But how does it differ from the generative AI that has been common up to now? Currently, ChatGPT and other AI models answer questions and generate text, images and sound at the instruction of their users. In online shopping, the functions have so far been largely limited to answering questions and helping with product searches.
AI agents can shop almost autonomously
AI shopping agents, on the other hand, will also be able to order and pay, including time-consuming tasks. One example: planning a family vacation with booking flights, hotels and train tickets. "Technically, this will work in such a way that the user will have to enter their payment details with the respective company, but will always have to give the final "go" for the payment to be approved," says Beij.
According to this, agent-based AI could already have a market share of 20 to 30 percent in online retail in three to five years. "Whether and who will ultimately dominate is completely unclear," says Beij. One company that has completed its preparations is a major international power in payment technology: the US company Visa, which is primarily known as a credit card issuer. "We have already carried out hundreds of transactions in the USA. In Germany and Europe, this will come in the course of next year," says Tobias Czekalla, Head of Germany.
The next revolution?
He compares the innovation to the start of e-commerce in the 1990s. "We are now on the cusp of the next revolution," says the manager. "This is the first time in history that machines are shopping for people." However, humans always have the last word: "If, for example, a train ticket or a hotel has suddenly become more expensive, customers are made aware of this once again."
Customers are skeptical
However, surveys have shown that many consumers are more than just skeptical. In a survey conducted by the retail research institute IFH, 60 percent of respondents said that they could imagine being assisted by an AI shopping agent when shopping. However, only nine percent would leave the entire purchase process, including payment, to the AI.
If retailers and the financial sector want to help AI shopping agents achieve a breakthrough, they need to overcome this negative attitude. "The key issue is trust," says Visa's Head of Germany, Czekalla. "Customers need to know that it works simply, securely and reliably."
Preventing manipulation
Accordingly, Visa and other providers are taking extensive security precautions. Both consumers and merchants want to be convinced that the AI is not being used to commit fraud. Visa, for example, checks every AI agent, as Czekalla says. And the operators of online stores and portals want to be sure that there really is 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 agent-based AI will naturally not be limited to retail or tourism. "Of course, this is not only suitable for private customers, but also for companies' B2B business," says Czekalla. In the IT world, it is a foregone conclusion that AI agents will also take on a wide range of tasks in completely different sectors in the future, from factory production planning to securities trading.
An opportunity for SMEs
According to payment service provider Unzer, it is by no means only large corporations that will benefit from this development in the retail sector. "The use of Agentic AI offers SMEs a great opportunity to be seen in online retail without a huge advertising budget," says Beij.
"However, the website must be optimized for AI-driven search engines: Product descriptions should be very precise and detailed. The better the product description, the easier it is to be found." Reviews and posts on discussion forums such as Reddit also play a role "Objectivity will play a greater role. AI can therefore function as a kind of trust pilot in purchasing."
Hesitant retailers could fall by the wayside
The development will change both the customer and the retail side, says Bernd Ohlmann, spokesman for the Bavarian Retail Association in Munich. "AI is a huge opportunity for both small and large companies." However, according to Ohlmann, it is an opportunity that should not be missed: "Those who don't jump on the bandwagon can quickly fall by the wayside 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 that around two thirds of consumers see benefits such as time savings and better recommendations in the use of AI chatbots. Almost half are convinced that they can find better prices and offers this way.
AI providers as shopping portals?
"ChatGPT and the like are giving rise to new competitors who want to take over the product search and convert it directly into a purchase," says IFH expert Ralf Deckers. "As a result, online stores are taking on the role of shelf space that is merely scanned in search of products." Deckers sees the biggest hurdle in storing payment data: "Many people don't want to hand over their wallets to the AI, but want to make the final purchase decision themselves." However, according to a survey by the digital industry association Bitkom, the younger generation is less skeptical: 43% of 16 to 29-year-olds would let AI make purchases on its own.
