Can AI agents revamp online shopping?

Internet giants are diving deeper into e-commerce with digital aides that know shoppers' likes, let them virtually try clothes on, hunt for deals and even place orders.

The rise of virtual personal shoppers springs from generative artificial intelligence (AI) being put to work in "agents" specialising in specific tasks and given autonomy to complete them independently.

"This is basically the next evolution of shopping experiences," said CFRA Research analyst Angelo Zino.

Google last week unveiled shopping features built into a new "AI Mode".

It can take a person's own photo and meld it with that of a skirt, shirt or other piece of clothing spotted online, showing how it will look on them.

The AI adjusts the clothing size to fit, accounting for how fabrics drape, according to Google head of advertising and commerce Vidhya Srinivasan.

Shoppers can then set the price they would pay and leave the AI to relentlessly browse the internet for a deal – alerting the shopper when it finds one, and asking if it should buy using Google's payment platform.

"They're taking on Amazon a little bit," Techsponential analyst Avi Greengart said of Google.

The tool is also a way to make money from AI by increasing online traffic and opportunities to show ads, Greengart added.

The Silicon Valley tech titan did not respond to a query regarding whether it is sharing in revenue from shopping transactions.

Analyst Zino does not expect AI shoppers to cause an e-commerce industry upheaval, but he does see the technology benefiting Google and Meta.

"They probably have more information on the consumer than anyone else out there," Zino said of Google and Meta.

Trusting a chatbot with one's buying decisions may spook some people, and while the technology might be in place the legal and ethical framework for it is not.

"The agent economy is here," said PSE Consulting managing director Chris Jones. "The next phase of e-commerce will depend on whether we can trust machines to buy on our behalf."