Early Signals of a Shift Toward Agentic Commerce

AI is becoming a new layer of influence in commerce shaping how shoppers discover, evaluate, and choose products before they ever click “buy.”

NIQ and the Digital Shelf Institute explore what that means for brands, the digital shelf, and the growing gap between shopper behavior and organizational readiness.

For years, brands have competed to win search placement, optimize content, and drive conversion across retailer platforms. But the digital shelf is evolving. Today, consumers are increasingly turning to generative AI to research products, summarize reviews, compare options, and streamline decision-making along the path to purchase. NIQ and DSI research shows that 68% of consumers use generative AI at least monthly, 34% use it to research products, and 23% use it to summarize reviews.

This is more than a technology trend, it signals a deeper shift in how choice is shaped online. As AI becomes part of the shopping journey, brands are no longer optimizing only for people and retailer algorithms. They are beginning to compete in an environment where AI also influences what gets surfaced, compared, and considered.

This report explores that shift and the early movement toward agentic commerce, where AI takes a more active role in shaping shopping decisions.

What AI Means for the Digital Shelf

If AI increasingly shapes the path to purchase, then the digital shelf is no longer just a place where products are displayed — it is also where products are interpreted, evaluated, and filtered through AI.

• That has important implications for brands:
• How product content is structured
• How claims, benefits, and attributes are surfaced
• How reviews and signals are synthesized
• How visibility is earned as discovery becomes more AI-mediated

The challenge is shifting from, “How do we show up for the shopper?”
to, “How do we show up in systems that shape shopper choice?”

The Signals Shaping What Comes Next

This report examines the early signals of that shift, including what NIQ and DSI identify as movement toward agentic commerce.

Inside, you’ll learn:

• How consumers are already using AI across the shopping journey today.
• Where interest in AI-assisted shopping is growing across audiences and demographics, including stronger interest among Millennials and higher-income households.
• How organizations are responding and where progress is slowing due to budget, infrastructure, skills, and trust barriers.
• Why data readiness and organizational alignment are becoming critical to competing in an AI-influenced commerce environment.
• What brand leaders should prioritize now to move beyond pilots and prepare for what comes next, including data centralization, cross-functional AI task forces, and stronger privacy guardrails.