AI Agents Fail to Fully Automate Online Shopping, Retailers Struggle

As of November 14th, 2025, AI chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT have started to integrate with e-commerce platforms, allowing users to make purchases directly within the chat interface. This "Instant Checkout" feature is one of the first results of partnerships between leading AI companies and major retailers.

However, the integration of AI agents into the shopping experience is still a work in progress. Executives at several tech and e-commerce firms reveal that AI developers are still negotiating with retailers on how to limit costly mistakes by these agents and the amount of product data and chat history that needs to be exchanged. Consequently, the current AI shopping features require significant user input and operate slowly or only for a limited number of items.

Surveys conducted in recent months show that while 60% of US consumers plan to use AI to assist with shopping, only 20% would let an AI agent fully handle their everyday purchases. In fact, 25% say they would prefer to shop without any AI help. Industry projections remain optimistic, with McKinsey estimating that up to $1 trillion in sales could be generated through agentic shopping by 2030 in the US alone.

As the industry works to address the challenges, consumers hoping to offload their shopping chores to AI this holiday season may be disappointed. Experts say there are still "big questions that have to be solved around a true functional experience" before AI agents can take over as full-time virtual buyers.