Here Come the Shopping Bots

Consumers have become accustomed to artificial intelligence as part of the online shopping process, as AI makes product recommendations and shows ads for previously browsed items. Now, however, major online retailers and internet companies are embedding into their platforms new features that turn AI assistants into “agentic shoppers”. 

These AI-powered personal shopping assistants are always on: scouting the web for items that are difficult to find, comparing prices in real time and anticipating recurring purchases—such as groceries—with minimal user intervention.

The rise of personalized digital interactive shoppers promises to unlock significant value for the online commerce ecosystem. Morgan Stanley Research estimates that agentic shoppers could reach $190 billion to $385 billion in U.S. e-commerce spending by 2030. The forecast translates to a likely 10% share of online retail for agentic shoppers and an optimistic outlook up to 20%.

Share of E-Commerce Spend

“Agentic will be a paradigm shift for e-commerce,” says Nathan Feather, who covers small- and mid-cap internet companies at Morgan Stanley Research. “With greater digitization of consumers' wallets, this could shake up the e-commerce funnel with implications across retailers and digital advertising players.”

A Big Boost to the Internet Business

Agentic technology is expected to ripple across the broader internet industry, but that would require more users of AI personal shoppers. 

“To reach widespread adoption, companies first need to develop products and consumer habits have to evolve,” says Brian Nowak, head of U.S. Internet Research at Morgan Stanley.

A recent Morgan Stanley AlphaWise survey indicates that adoption of various large language model (LLM) platforms—AI programs capable of generating text and performing complex tasks—is now nearing up to 50% in the U.S., while shopping assistants remain far less common.

“This is not surprising, as platforms that have a number of uses are likely to gain adoption faster,” Nowak says. “But it also underscores the risks and opportunities for retailers partnering with these bigger platforms.”

Early Signs of Commercial Behavior

The survey indicated visible commercial behavior on AI platforms. About half of LLM users researched and compared product prices in the past month, and 30% to 40% reported making purchases. Based on adoption rates, Morgan Stanley estimates that roughly 23% of Americans bought something via AI in the past month—highlighting the potential for agentic solutions.

Groceries and consumer packaged goods (CPG) lead the way in AI-driven purchases, according to the survey. 

“This is encouraging,” Nowak says. “First, because we see multiple new agentic products emerging around grocery/CPG and second, because grocery could be the largest agentic unlock over the next five years.”