Advertisers Face A New Buyer: AI Agents, Not Just Consumers

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Advertisers and media buyers may soon be pitching their brands to algorithms as much as to people, according to a new report from IBM and the National Retail Federation. It argues “agentic commerce” is rapidly reshaping how discovery, persuasion and purchase decisions are made.

The study, based on surveys of more than 18,000 consumers and 200 retail and consumer products executives globally, finds shoppers are increasingly comfortable delegating parts of the buying process to AI systems that research, compare and eventually transact on their behalf.