Most Egyptian firms still don't know what AI shopping agents are

Most senior business leaders in Egypt say they are not very familiar with agentic commerce, but more than eight in 10 expect it to disrupt their industry within two years. That is the picture from a survey Visa commissioned, run by Fast Company Middle East and powered by Probity.

What the term means

Agentic commerce means AI that acts, not just suggests. It can place orders, complete transactions, manage inventory and personalize the customer experience. People set the limits it works within.

What the survey found

• 55.7% are not very familiar with the idea, and 16.8% have heard it but find the term unclear.
• Only 27.2% call themselves quite or very familiar.
• 83.8% expect moderate to high disruption within two years. No one expects zero impact.
• 16.1% are preparing pilots within six months, and another 16.1% have mid-term rollout plans.
• 2.4% already use autonomous purchasing.

Much of the push comes from the top. 32.5% name executive leadership as the main force behind their exploration.

What is not known

The material does not say how many leaders were surveyed or which industries they work in. It also does not describe how the early pilots are set up. The report points to the same open questions for businesses: where agents add value, what actions they may take, and how that work will be supervised.