A new retail study says AI assistants could soon compare products and complete purchases for shoppers, raising questions about data, control and responsibility.
Shopping assistants may soon do more than suggest products. A new study says the next step is software that compares options and completes the purchase for you. The idea is called agentic commerce, meaning an AI that acts on your behalf instead of only answering questions.
The study is called Intelligent Distribution. It was prepared by DigitalES and La Distribución ANGED. It collects how five retailers already use AI: Leroy Merlin, Alcampo, MediaMarkt, El Corte Inglés and Eroski. Agentic commerce is described as one of the next scenarios, not something the study says is already here.
Eroski shows another side. It merged phone, email and messaging support into one platform that handles more than 23,000 cases a month. According to the study, handling time per contact fell by nearly 42%. Transfers between agents dropped from about 40% to about 4%.
If an assistant picks products and pays, the study says companies must pay attention to how it decides and what information it uses. It points to data, responsibility and human supervision as key issues. Someone has to decide what actions the system may carry out, how it is controlled and how shoppers keep trusting it.
The study advises starting with a concrete problem and checking the results before expanding. It lists good data, tools built into daily work and trained teams as conditions. Success should not be judged only by time saved. Product availability, customer satisfaction and time for personal attention also count.
Amparo López Senovilla, the Secretary of State for Commerce, said technology must bring value to companies and benefits to people. She added that automating repetitive tasks frees resources for creativity, strategy and customer service.
The material does not say when shopping assistants that buy for you will reach shoppers, or which stores will offer them. It also does not explain who pays if an assistant makes a bad purchase. Those are the points to check before handing over a purchase.
Before letting an assistant buy for you, check what it may do, what data it uses and who is responsible if something goes wrong.
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