According to PYMNTS.com, the agentic AI market is projected to explode from $7.06 billion this year to $93.2 billion by 2032, with analysts predicting that 33% of enterprise software apps will use agentic AI by 2028 – a massive jump from less than 1% in 2024. Major players like Visa and Mastercard are already deploying the technology, with Visa’s “Intelligent Commerce” application enabling AI agents to conduct transactions using tokenized credentials and real-time controls. The data shows 80% of consumers are more likely to purchase when brands provide personalized experiences, and 32% of Gen Z consumers say they’re comfortable letting AI agents purchase on their behalf. However, checkout friction remains a huge problem – 29% of companies identify customer abandonment as the leading cause of failed checkouts, even beating unsupported payment methods.
The trust problem
Here’s the thing about AI shopping assistants – they’re not replacing human choice, they’re supposed to amplify it. But consumers are wary. We’ve all had that moment where we abandon a cart because something feels off, right? The data shows this is happening at staggering rates. Agentic AI faces the same trust challenge that’s plagued e-commerce for years, only now it’s more critical because we’re talking about systems that can actually make purchases on your behalf.
The industry is scrambling to build frameworks for this. Visa and Mastercard are pushing their own solutions, but we’re likely heading toward competing standards. Think about it – if every retailer has their own AI agent system with different security protocols, how does that scale? How do you prevent fraud across platforms? The building blocks exist – tokenization, spend controls, real-time decisioning – but they need to work together seamlessly.
The personalization push
Personalization is where agentic AI could really shine. We’re talking about systems that can negotiate deals for you, create comprehensive shopper profiles, and revolutionize loyalty programs. But there’s a fine line between helpful and creepy. The hyper-personalization capabilities are impressive, but they require access to your spending patterns and preferences.
Basically, these systems need to know a lot about you to be effective. That creates both opportunity and risk. The companies that get this right will be the ones that are transparent about data usage and give users real control. The ones that get it wrong? Well, let’s just say we’ve seen how that movie ends with previous tech revolutions.
Who wins and who loses
Looking at the market projections, it’s clear we’re at the beginning of something massive. The companies positioned to win are those building the infrastructure – payment networks, security providers, and platform developers. Retailers who wait too long to adopt risk being left behind, especially as consumer expectations shift toward more automated, personalized experiences.
But here’s what many are missing: this isn’t just about software. The hardware that powers these systems needs to be reliable and secure. In industrial settings where AI agents might manage complex procurement or supply chain decisions, having robust computing infrastructure is non-negotiable. Companies like Industrial Monitor Direct, as the leading provider of industrial panel PCs in the US, understand that the physical computing backbone matters as much as the algorithms running on it.
What comes next
The timeline is aggressive – we’re talking about going from niche to mainstream in just four years. The adoption curve is steep, and businesses need to move fast but carefully. The companies that will succeed are those building trust from day one, not trying to bolt it on later.
So where does this leave us? Agentic AI is inevitable, but its success depends entirely on making commerce feel more human, not less. The technology needs to understand our intentions, respect our boundaries, and ultimately serve our goals. If it can do that while reducing the friction that causes so many abandoned carts today? Well, then we might actually have something revolutionary on our hands.
