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IDC PlanScape: Agentic Commerce

Publisher IDC
Published Feb 04, 2026
Length 19 Pages
SKU # IDC20844924

Description

This IDC PlanScape, written for leaders and key stakeholders of digital commerce initiatives, examines the future vision of agentic commerce and the various emerging definitions of the concept and provides an exploration of dependencies, next steps, and important strategic caveats to consider.The document answers the following questions:What is agentic commerce, and how does it fundamentally differ from traditional digital commerce?Why is agentic commerce strategically important for enterprises now?What does true AI autonomy mean in commerce, and how is it different from automation?What minimum conditions must be met for commerce to be considered "agentic"?Which parts of the commerce life cycle can realistically be autonomous today?Where does current AI capability sit on the agentic maturity curve, and what is still theoretical?Which enterprise functions are most impacted, and how do their roles change?Where are the highest-value, near-term opportunities for agentic commerce adoption?What technical, data, trust, and regulatory constraints limit agentic commerce today?How should organizations practically and safely begin adopting agentic commerce?"Progress in agentic commerce depends on coordination across the organization," says Heather Hershey, research director, AI-Enabled Digital Commerce at IDC. "Clear policies, defined guardrails, escalation paths, and a realistic view of current AI limitations are essential to success. Organizations that take a deliberate, staged approach can unlock efficiency gains and position themselves ahead of competitors, as agentic AI is already opening new opportunities toward optimizing procurement, accelerating payments, and shaping how products surface in AI-mediated discovery. Those that wait risk ceding both operational advantage and visibility as commerce increasingly shifts into agent-driven environments."

Table of Contents

19 Pages

IDC PlanScape Figure

Executive Summary

Why Is Agentic Commerce Important?

What Is Agentic Commerce?

Good Info for Everyone: The Five Levels of Agentic AI

Detailed Breakdown

Level 1: Chatbots (The "Stochastic Parrot")

Level 2: Reasoners (The "Smart Consultant")

Level 3: Agents (The "Intern" — Where We Are Entering Now)

Level 4: Innovators (The "Department Head")

Level 5: AGI/Organizational AI (The "CEO")

Who Are the Key Stakeholders?

Marketers and Growth Teams

Merchandisers and Product Managers

Customer Experience and Service Leaders

Procurement and Sourcing Teams

CFOs and Finance Leadership

CIOs and Technology Leaders

Operations, Fulfillment, and Supply Chain Leaders

Cross-Functional Reality

How Can My Organization Take Advantage of Agentic Commerce?

The "Buyer Agent" Opportunity (B2B and B2C)

The AEO/GEO Agentic Discovery Opportunity

Agentic Shopping on AI Platforms Opportunity

Payments on Agentic AI Platforms Opportunity

The Chatbot/Conversational Commerce/Guided Shopping Agent Opportunity

The Generative UI Opportunity

The Fulfillment and Logistics Opportunity

Advice for Technology Buyers

How Buyers Can Realistically Take Advantage of Agentic Commerce

Make Your Products and Content Legible to LLMs

Start with "Constrained Autonomy" in Purchasing

Experiment with Agentic Shopping Feeds on a Small, Measurable Surface

Bring Agentic Experiences to Your Own Properties First

Prepare Finance and Risk Functions for Embedded, Semiautonomous Payments

Align Stakeholders Around "Governance, Not Magic"

Related Research

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