AI agents could reshape online shopping as retailers block bots

Retailers’ efforts to block bots can also prevent shoppers’ personal agents from using their systems. For scarce, highly sought-after sneakers, a race to click first may no longer be a fair way to allocate purchases. A cited Steam Machine example used a week-long registration window followed by a lottery, giving people the same chance whether an agent clicked in 0.1 seconds or a person clicked an hour later. Some services may need to rethink rules built around human shoppers; otherwise, users may simply buy elsewhere.

In a possible future, agents on both sides of a transaction could check inventory and sizing behind the scenes, much as credit cards simplified the mechanics of payment. Agent competition could then play out largely out of users’ view.