When you shop online or even walk into a store later this year, it’s increasingly likely that you will at some point find yourself interacting with an AI agent. Not a chatbot. Not a static kiosk. We’re talking about agentic AI: autonomous, adaptive systems designed to solve problems, take action and even collaborate with other agents — all with minimal or no human input.
Retailers, from Walmart to digitally savvy startups, are investing in this technology as a core element of their future operations. And that future is arriving fast.
In its recent “Retail Rewired Report,” Walmart paints a picture of a retail landscape transformed by intelligent, behind-the-scenes agents that handle everything from answering customer questions and locating products to optimizing prices and monitoring shelf inventory. These AI systems aren’t just there to assist human employees — they’re taking on customer-facing roles of their own.
Walmart’s GenAI-powered shopping assistant — called Sparky — is one example of this shift. It uses a constellation of AI agents to help customers find products, answer questions and provide personalized recommendations. Shoppers are increasingly open to that kind of help. Walmart says 27% of consumers now trust AI-driven suggestions more than those from influencers.
That’s not to say humans are out of the picture. In fact, retailers are discovering that the best results often come from hybrid setups — “co-pilot” models where AI handles the repetitive grunt work and humans step in for higher-touch interactions. The upside? Store associates can focus more on meaningful customer service while agents handle price checks, product lookups and even answering those “where’s the bathroom?” questions.
Retailers looking to deploy agentic AI don’t need to start from scratch. There’s now a full ecosystem of options, from pre-built platforms to fully customized, in-house systems. Cost remains a major consideration, though, and companies must carefully weigh ROI while maintaining strict guardrails on data security and ethical use. After all, these systems often plug directly into store infrastructure — lighting, HVAC, inventory control — and that kind of access comes with risks.
It’s also worth noting that AI agents are stepping into a workforce in flux. Retailers face growing competition for labor from sectors like health care and logistics, and staffing shortages are real challenges. Agentic AI offers a partial solution, filling in routine tasks and extending workforce capacity without requiring another hire. Still, putting agents on the floor isn’t just about filling gaps. It’s about redefining what the customer journey looks like in a digitally mediated world. When AI agents begin to act as personal shoppers — or even negotiate with other agents to find you the best deal — the entire retail model shifts. Marketing strategies will need to evolve, optimizing not just for human eyes but also for algorithmic decision making.
As Coresight Research noted in its “2025 AI Playbook,” “agentic AI offers new, unparalleled capabilities for enterprises to leverage the power of multiple types of AI … and benefit from the creation of an agentic workforce that can operate on its own.” This isn’t just a technology trend — it’s a workforce revolution.
If 2023 was the year of experimentation and 2024 was the year of foundational investment, 2025 may go down as the year agentic AI finally took center stage.
