As the artificial intelligence (AI) agent market grows rapidly, the positions of commerce platforms

As the artificial intelligence (AI) agent market grows rapidly, the positions of commerce platforms looking at them are mixed. This is because when an AI agent searches and pays for a user, the point of contact with the user becomes the AI agent, not the platform.

According to the information technology (IT) industry on the 11th, as the role of AI agents increases, the response of AI agents by commercial platform companies is sharply divided. AI agents are AI tools that perform tasks on behalf of users without human supervision.

Amazon recently blocked access to Meta's AI agent "Muse" for violating the terms of use when it tried to search and purchase products on Amazon on behalf of users. Amazon claimed that Meta had not received prior approval for Muse's access to Amazon, and that AI agents did not clearly inform them that they were AI when they accessed the site. He also cited the fact that problems such as personal information and account security could arise as a reason for blocking.

On the other hand, Google is actively expanding commerce through AI agents. In January, along with Shopify, it unveiled an open commerce standard (UCP) that allows AI agents to link with external vendors to perform product search, shopping cart, and payment. Using this, Google Search and Geminai also allow users to purchase products from outside vendors.

Recently, India has started a test operation to purchase products directly through Gemini. For users under test, a 'buy' button appears on some products displayed in Gemini and AI mode. If you press this, it directly connects to the payment process without leaving the AI screen.

On the 6th (local time), Meta, Walmart, Shopify, and Stripe decided to create a common standard for personal AI agents to check user identity and delegated authority when accessing corporate services.

Just as a person checks his or her identity when he or she logs into an online service, he or she will also give AI agents a kind of "identification." The key is to allow companies to check which users AI has accessed on behalf of and how far they have been entrusted with authority such as product search, reservation, and payment.

◆ Between consumer contact and market expansion

Industry analysts say that such a move itself is proof that AI agents are shaking customer contacts of existing platforms.

If AI agents come in, search, compare, and pay for products instead, users will not go through Amazon apps and search windows, so core assets such as advertisement exposure, recommendation algorithms, customer behavior data, and membership lock-in will be weakened for companies operating commerce platforms.

Of course, on the contrary, there are attempts to expand the market to AI agents such as Walmart and Shopify. They believe that even if customers do not visit their platform in person, they can expand sales if new transactions occur through AI.

In Korea, commerce platforms are also blocking access to external agents. Naver is restricting foreign agents' access and expanding its own shopping AI agent functions. Coupang, Korea's No. 1 e-commerce company, is also blocking external AI from paying on its app.