AGENTIC COMMERCE
Shopping with an AI agent
A shopping agent is an AI assistant asked to find products and prepare purchases for you. Give it a request, such as finding a cable for no more than $30 including delivery. The agent searches, compares the order with your instructions and brings it back for your review.
Preparing an order raises a separate question: how much access should the agent have to your money? A card number lets it attempt payment. A spending limit checks the amount, but a $25 gift card still fits a $30 cable budget, so the item and terms need review too.
YOUR REQUEST
- The agent prepares the order
- You review and approve
- The agent checks the results
Follow the cable purchase
The agent prepares the order
Your request is for a black, 2 m USB-C cable from Pied Piper, for up to $30 including delivery. The agent prepares a $25.92 order: $24 for the cable, $1.92 tax and free delivery.
You review and approve
Review the item, seller and total, then open Apple Pay. If a code appears, scan the current code with an eligible iPhone or iPad and approve there. Keep checkout open while the authorization result is checked.
The result is verified
Device approval still needs a payment result. This checkout asks Stripe to verify an Apple Pay test authorization before the guide continues. A real purchase would also need the seller’s order confirmation.
How much payment access are you giving?
A card number, a spending limit and a payment token describe different things. Follow the same wrong-item example through each approach to see what still needs review.
A gift card fits the cable budget
You asked for a cable costing up to $30 delivered. The agent instead chooses a $25 gift card from the same seller. The seller and amount checks pass; comparing the item with your request reveals the mistake.
| Requested | At checkout | Control | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seller | Pied Piper | Pied PiperSame seller | No purchase limit |
| Delivered total | Up to $30 | $25.00Within the limit | No purchase limit |
| Item | USB-C charging cableBlack, 2 m | Gift cardDifferent item | Item not checked |
- Seller and amount
- The number lets the shopping service attempt a payment. The card issuer and seller still apply ordinary payment checks; the number itself sets no purchase limits.
- Item and terms
- The shopping service still needs to compare the item and terms with your request.
- In this example
- The card number alone supplies no item check.
These approaches can work together. A payment you approve may use a token underneath; the available controls depend on the provider and its integration.
Compare the providers