A new report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) warns that AI shopping agents are beginning to take over the buying process. These systems can now search for products, compare prices, and even complete purchases, all without customers visiting a store’s website. And they’re available in the most used Ai tools like ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini or Perplexity.
The shift is happening faster than anyone expected. According to Adobe, traffic to retail sites from AI browsers and chat services grew by more than 4,700% in July 2025. Those visits were also more valuable because they spent more time on pages. And they were less likely to leave without making a purchase.
All of this suggests that AI-driven browsing isn’t just casual shopping. It’s purposeful and often leads to a conversion.
While this may sound promising, there’s a major downside. As AI shopping agents become the main entry point for online shopping, retailers risk losing visibility into who their customers are and how they shop. BCG warns that if brands don’t act, they could become “background utilities” that shoppers never interact with directly.
Major players are already building features that make this possible. Perplexity now allows users to make purchases directly through PayPal in chat. ChatGPT offers instant checkout for Etsy and will soon support Shopify. Additionally, Google’s AI Mode will soon enable one-click purchases through Google Pay.
To stay competitive, BCG recommends three key steps: make your product data machine-readable so AI systems can understand it, create your own branded shopping agents to maintain control of your customer experience, and invest in AI training and infrastructure.
The takeaway is simple: AI shopping is now here. Retailers who adapt now will stay visible and relevant in this new era of eCommerce, while those who wait may end up fading away.