Shopify President Harley Finklestein has a clear message: the next wave of online sales won't be driven by customers browsing websites, but by AI assistants making purchases on their behalf. Speaking at the Upfront Summit in Los Angeles, Finklestein outlined the company's major investment in what it calls 'agentic' shopping.

With only 18% of U.S. retail still occurring online, Finklestein sees AI agents as the tool to finally unlock the remaining 82%. These digital personal shoppers would learn a user's specific tastes over time. He used his own preference for On running shoes as an example. A typical search for 'sneakers' might prioritize big retailers like Footlocker. An agent, however, knowing his brand loyalty, would surface options from On directly.

While critics note that search algorithms already use browsing history, Finklestein argues agents will operate at a deeper, more contextual level. He believes they will act as more authentic curators because they aren't driven by commission, but by a prediction of what the user genuinely wants.

For Shopify's millions of merchants, many of whom struggle for visibility, this represents a potential revolution. 'This is where we think agentic will play a huge role in surfacing new brands,' Finklestein said. The company is already developing the infrastructure, including an AI assistant for merchants named Sidekick, support agents, and new data protocols.

'We're probably more excited about this particular new era of commerce than we have ever been,' Finklestein concluded, framing AI shopping not as a replacement for human influence, but as a powerful new channel that could democratize discovery for smaller brands.

Source: TechCrunch