Gartner again named Salesforce a Leader in digital commerce software, as Salesforce says shoppers increasingly start their buying in AI assistants.
Salesforce says Gartner has named it a Leader for the 11th year in a row in its 2026 Magic Quadrant for Digital Commerce. That is a report ranking the software companies that run online stores. The more useful part of the announcement for store owners is what Salesforce says is changing: more people now start shopping by asking an AI assistant.
Gartner is a company that publishes technology research. Its Magic Quadrant places vendors on a chart. Salesforce says it landed furthest to the right on Completeness of Vision, one of the two measures on the chart. The recognition covers Commerce Cloud, Salesforce's platform for online selling to consumers (B2C) and to other businesses (B2B).
Salesforce argues that a brand's own website no longer has a monopoly on product discovery. People are also finding and buying through AI tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini. It cites the State of Commerce Report for two figures:
These are numbers Salesforce chose to highlight, and the announcement does not describe how the survey was done.
Salesforce says Commerce Cloud uses AI agents, meaning software that carries out tasks on its own. One is Carter, a shopper agent that guides customers from browsing to checkout. Others help merchants with product displays and order handling. Salesforce also bought a company called Cimulate to add AI discovery technology.
The company also says it supports shared technical rules, including one called the Universal Commerce Protocol. Retailers on Commerce Cloud would be able to offer checkout on Google, including the Gemini app and AI Mode in Google Search. The retailer would remain the merchant of record, meaning it stays the official seller of the sale.
This is Salesforce's own announcement, and a ranking is not a guarantee that the software fits every business. Gartner says it does not endorse any vendor and does not advise buyers to pick only top-rated ones. It describes its reports as opinion, not fact. The announcement gives no pricing, and it does not say when each new feature will be available to customers.
Business owners who sell online do not need to switch platforms because of a ranking. A better first step is to check how your products appear when someone asks an AI assistant for what you sell, and whether your current store software has a plan for those channels.
Do not chase a ranking, but check how your products show up when shoppers ask AI assistants, and ask your store software provider about its plans.
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