Shopify will allow customers to set up AI agents that can purchase products on their behalf, the company announced. More than 1,000,000,000 listings in its catalog will become accessible to these agents.
The company's catalog includes items sold both on and off Shopify storefronts. In September, Shopify established a partnership with Meta to permit its Muse agent to browse and buy items for human users.
Shoppers are not restricted to partner integrations and can use any agent they choose. Users connect their chosen agent directly to their account on Shop, a platform owned by Shopify that manages orders and tracks packages.
The one-click Shop Pay feature allows customers to complete transactions within the agent's conversation. Orders generated by an agent are sent back to the Shop app for management.
Shopify describes the tool as a personal shopper that follows rules provided by humans, though buyers must still approve every individual purchase. Google and Amazon are also developing AI-driven shopping tools with the ultimate goal of having agents buy items for users.
Amazon, Meta's Muse, and companies like Perplexity are currently competing over whether AI agents should be permitted to shop for customers.
