The last 12 months have completely redefined what modern eCommerce looks like.
As customer expectations rose and competition intensified, businesses could no longer rely on traditional processes to scale efficiently.
AI quickly evolved from an experimental technology into a critical driver of growth, operational efficiency, and exceptional customer experiences.
This year’s AI Agents in eCommerce Survey brings together the perspectives of 312 ecommerce leaders - founders, CX directors, product heads, and support teams - to understand how AI agents are transforming the industry.
The findings are clear:
- AI agents are now deeply integrated across the customer journey.
- Brands are moving beyond chatbots - embracing autonomous, multi-channel agents.
- And nearly all respondents believe AI will only grow in importance through 2026 and beyond.
Yet despite this rapid adoption, the human element remains central - guiding strategy, defining brand voice, and stepping in for complex emotional scenarios, with the AI journey still relying on human users for direction and oversight.
We hope this report helps you understand where AI agents vs automation is headed, how leaders are adapting, and what opportunities lie ahead for eCommerce brands of every size.
Here’s to building the future of commerce: faster, smarter, and more customer-centric.
The evolution of eCommerce in the AI era
One of the biggest transformations is the emergence of AI Agents, which are redefining both buyer and support journeys.
From guiding shoppers with personalized recommendations to resolving customer queries instantly, AI Agents help brands deliver faster, more consistent, and highly contextual experiences across every touchpoint.
Next era of commerce is autonomous.
Your store should be too. Skara gives modern eCommerce brands the intelligence, speed, and autonomy needed to exceed customer expectations, every minute, every channel, every interaction.
How AI agents are redefining buyer and support journeys
The world of eCommerce is undergoing a fundamental shift, moving from static browsing to conversational, guided, personalized experiences.
Shoppers no longer passively navigate websites. They expect instant clarity, tailored recommendations, and seamless purchase paths.
AI agents are rapidly becoming the infrastructure behind modern eCommerce experiences, enabling businesses to deliver faster, more personalized customer interactions at scale.
While generative AI focuses on creating content from prompts, AI-driven shopper agents and search experiences are already reshaping buyer behavior, with traffic to retail sites from these sources growing 4,700% year over year.
From pre-purchase discovery to post-purchase resolution, AI systems now power adaptive experiences across every stage of the customer lifecycle - supporting revenue, speed, and satisfaction at scale.
Samir Motwani: AI agents aren’t changing eCommerce by adding chat. They’re changing it by removing friction. When discovery, answers, and decisions happen in one continuous conversation, brands move faster, customers feel guided, and teams scale without losing control. This is commerce becoming intent-driven. |
Who took the survey
The AI Agents in eCommerce Survey 2026 gathered insights from 312 professionals across leadership, customer support, sales, and product teams.
This diverse mix reflects how AI adoption is no longer confined to a single department, but is influencing decisions across customer experience, revenue growth, and product strategy.
Decision-makers driving modern eCommerce
The 2026 AI Agents in eCommerce Survey brings together insights from 312 industry professionals representing leadership, support, sales, and product functions.
This cross-functional mix reflects the reality of modern eCommerce teams, where CX, revenue, and product decisions increasingly converge.
Key insights
- 29.2% of participants were C-level executives, indicating strong leadership involvement in AI decisions.
- 23.4% were Customer Support/Experience leaders, representing the frontline impact of AI automation.
- 17.6% came from Sales/Revenue teams, showing adoption beyond support.
- 16% were Support agents, offering on-ground operational perspectives.
- 13.8% were Product heads, reflecting AI’s role in product & platform design.
Takeaway
This mix reflects a balanced yet leadership-leaning sample - indicating that AI adoption discussions are not just operational but deeply strategic across organizations. AI is now a boardroom conversation, not a helpdesk initiative.
Company verticals
The survey highlights that AI is no longer limited to early adopters; businesses across categories are leveraging it to improve customer experiences, automate support, and drive more efficient buying journeys.
Which sectors are adopting AI agents the fastest
The eCommerce industry is far from monolithic. Brands across fashion, beauty, wellness, consumer goods, electronics, and luxury are all adopting AI agents - each with different expectations and use cases.
This survey’s vertical distribution highlights how AI adoption is no longer concentrated in one or two tech-forward sectors, but reflects a broader trend among ecommerce stores across categories adopting AI tools to stay competitive.
Key Insights
- 13.5% — Apparel & Fashion
The largest segment, driven by high SKU counts, sizing queries, and product discovery complexity. - 11.2% — Consumer Goods
Everyday essentials see steady AI adoption to streamline FAQs and reduce support load. - 11.2% — Beauty
Perfect for personalized recommendations, shade matching, and ingredient-based queries. - 10.3% — Luxury Goods & Jewelry
High-touch customer expectations make AI essential for instant, high-quality CX.
Takeaway
AI agents are not a niche solution - they are becoming foundational across categories because they improve personalized customer experiences and support operational efficiency at scale.
From high-volume apparel brands to experience-driven luxury retailers, companies across segments are embracing AI to streamline operations and improve buyer journeys.
Related read: State of AI agents in eCommerce report 2026.
Skara AI Agents: Transforming how eCommerce brands sell, support & scale
As this 2026 industry survey makes clear, AI agents are no longer a futuristic concept - they’re the new operating layer of modern commerce.
At the center of this shift is Skara AI agents, built as one of a new generation of intelligent agents powered by artificial intelligence to help eCommerce brands improve business operations while delivering fast, intelligent, fully autonomous customer experiences.
Unlike generative AI, which mainly creates content from prompts, Skara’s eCommerce AI Agents go beyond traditional chatbots.
They use natural language processing and machine learning in customer interactions to understand intent, guide shoppers through discovery, and recommend the right products.
They can also take autonomous actions across the customer journey to recover lost revenue, resolve post-purchase issues, and deliver personalized experiences in real time, across every channel your customers use.
Where appropriate, the platform can automate transactions such as order-related updates or delivery adjustments.
Whether you’re scaling support, improving your conversion rate, or creating seamless 24/7 experiences, Skara equips your brand with the power to deliver storefront intelligence at scale.
a. What Skara delivers
Skara provides AI Agents purpose-built for eCommerce, capable of handling the entire customer journey, from product discovery and guided shopping to order tracking, returns, exchanges, and replenishment requests.
Designed to operate across website chat, social DMs, SMS, WhatsApp, and voice channels, Skara helps brands deliver fast, consistent, and personalized support wherever customers choose to engage.
Built on a zero-hallucination architecture, Skara prioritizes accuracy, reliability, and brand safety while driving measurable business outcomes through upselling, cross-selling, abandoned cart recovery, and proactive customer engagement.
With deep integrations across Shopify, WooCommerce, and other leading eCommerce platforms, Skara fits seamlessly into existing systems and workflows.
Brands maintain complete control through customizable brand voice guidelines, approval workflows, and escalation paths, ensuring AI operates as an extension of the team, not a replacement for it.
b. Why leading brands choose Skara
Leading eCommerce brands choose Skara because it helps them balance growth, efficiency, and customer experience at scale.
By delivering real-time, intelligent recommendations, Skara enables teams to create more personalized shopping experiences, increase conversions, and unlock new revenue opportunities while maintaining consistent, on-brand customer interactions.
Skara also helps businesses reduce operational overhead by automating high-volume conversations without sacrificing service quality.
Whether during seasonal peaks, product launches, or major marketing campaigns, brands can scale support effortlessly while maintaining fast response times and high customer satisfaction.
The result is a smarter, more efficient operation where every customer interaction has the potential to drive revenue and strengthen loyalty.
Future of eCommerce runs on AI agents
Join the brands using Skara to deliver instant support, increase conversions, and create intelligent customer journeys across chat, social, voice, SMS, and WhatsApp.
The state of AI adoption
As brands look to scale customer engagement, streamline support, and drive revenue growth, AI agents are becoming a core part of how modern teams operate across the customer journey.
How extensively are brands using AI agents today
AI has shifted from experimentation to implementation. Brands are no longer debating whether AI should be used - they’re deciding how far, how fast, and which business processes and touchpoints should be automated first.
As customer interactions increase in volume and complexity, AI agents are becoming the scalable backbone of CX and sales operations.
Approximately one in three eCommerce brands actively utilize AI agents.
Key Insights:
- 43.6% of brands already use AI agents in at least one major area.
- 26% have adopted AI across multiple touchpoints, signaling maturity.
- 17.3% are in the pilot/testing phase, building foundations.
- 8.3% are not using AI yet, representing late adopters.
- 4.8% say AI is already core to their commerce strategy.
Takeaway
The market is moving from adoption to scaling, and 73% of business leaders see their use of AI agents as a major competitive advantage.
In retail specifically, 75% of decision-makers say deploying AI agents will be vital to beating their competition.
AI no longer “sits on the sidelines”- it is embedded in live customer-facing workflows. The focus has shifted from “Should we use AI?” to “How fast can we expand it?”
Gartner predicts that 33% of enterprise software applications will include agent-based AI by 2028, up from less than 1% in 2024.
Value delivered by AI agents
From helping shoppers find the right products to providing instant support and driving repeat purchases, brands are seeing the strongest returns where speed, personalization, and convenience are critical.
Where AI agents drive the highest ROI
eCommerce brands are increasingly relying on AI to streamline product discovery, enhance customer support, and recover lost revenue.
The data shows AI agents excel where speed, personalization, and accuracy matter the most - especially in the high-intent moments before and after a purchase, when they use customer needs and customer history to improve personalization.
Key insights
- 82.4% believe product discovery provides the biggest value uplift.
- 73.1% cite customer support & FAQs as a top AI use case.
- 68.3% see strong performance in post-purchase support.
- 49.4% rely on AI for cart abandonment recovery.
- 47.8% use AI for upselling and cross-selling.
Takeaway
AI agents are no longer support assistants - they’re revenue partners that increase customer retention by 10% to 15% and speed up buying decisions by guiding shoppers, resolving doubts, and helping customers complete purchases faster.
Shoppers interacting with AI agents complete transactions 47% faster and spend 32% more time exploring on-site content, improving operational efficiency.
Brands deploying autonomous agents see a 59% higher growth rate than those relying only on rules-based chatbots built on predefined rules.
Advanced AI agents also contribute to significant operational cost reductions, with 69% of companies reporting lower costs.
Drivers behind AI adoption
As customer interactions grow in volume and complexity, AI agents are helping businesses scale service quality without scaling teams at the same pace.
What’s motivating brands to invest in AI
AI adoption in eCommerce is driven by a blend of customer expectations and operational realities.
Shoppers now expect customer inquiries to be handled instantly, along with personalized recommendations and support that’s available around the clock - creating pressure on brands to scale beyond human-only teams.
Over 80% of customers are comfortable having shopping queries handled by AI agents when the response is instant.
Top motivations
- 30.8% cite the need for 24/7 assistance as the primary driver.
- 26% want to improve customer experience at scale.
- 14.1% feel competitive pressure to adopt AI before rivals.
- 12.2% struggle with rising support volume.
- 9% are motivated by cost reduction, though this is no longer the top driver.
Takeaway
The top two drivers are customer experience, not cost-cutting. Brands now understand that superior CX = higher conversions and helps them stay competitive. AI is becoming synonymous with scalable excellence.
Barriers & concerns
While AI agents adoption statistics continues to grow, brands remain focused on practical challenges such as proving ROI, ensuring data security, and maintaining consistent customer experiences.
These concerns reflect a shift from questioning AI’s potential to evaluating how it can be implemented reliably and responsibly at scale.
What’s slowing down wider adoption
Even though AI adoption is accelerating, brands still express concerns around ROI clarity, compliance, and maintaining brand consistency.
These concerns reflect a maturing space where leaders expect predictable outcomes and tighter alignment between AI and their existing workflows, complex workflows, and broader decision making processes without increasing risk.
The good news: concerns around hallucinations and accuracy are dropping sharply as AI architectures improve.
Top concerns
- 33.3% highlight ROI uncertainty as their biggest blocker.
- 30.4% point to data privacy & compliance concerns.
- 11.9% worry about loss of control over customer interactions.
- 11.5% are concerned about brand voice mismatch.
- Only 6% still cite hallucinations, marking improved reliability.
Takeaway
Leaders want measurable revenue lift, not vague productivity improvements. An AI that sounds off-brand breaks trust, especially in beauty, luxury, and wellness verticals. Real-world performance has improved dramatically with retrieval-augmented systems.
Humans + AI in 2026
The future of eCommerce is increasingly hybrid, combining the speed and scalability of AI with the judgment and empathy of human teams.
Rather than replacing people, AI is taking over repetitive tasks, allowing employees to focus on complex customer needs, strategic decisions, and high-value interactions.
Hybrid workforce is becoming the norm
AI is reshaping roles, not replacing them. As AI takes over repetitive, rule-based tasks, human teams are stepping into higher-value roles while human agents focus on complex or sensitive cases that require empathy, strategic decision-making, and escalations.
The future of work in eCommerce is hybrid: AI can perform tasks at scale, while human agents still handle exceptions and emotionally sensitive scenarios.
Key insights
- 43.9% expect AI to handle most conversations with humans managing edge cases.
- 23.7% believe AI will provide summaries and suggestions to assist human teams.
- 14.1% foresee humans leading while AI automates repetitive tasks.
- 13.1% predict a fully AI-led environment with minimal supervision.
- 5.2% remain undecided about the long-term mix.
Takeaway
AI is not replacing teams, it’s reshaping roles. Emerging human roles include: AI supervisors, Conversation designers, CX escalation specialists, and Workflow architects.
In consumer behavior, 24% are already comfortable delegating autonomous shopping to AI agents, while 36% prefer automated digital agents over human interaction.
AI handles the routines, but human supervision, human expertise, human intervention, and human approval still matter for exceptions and emotionally sensitive scenarios.
Check out: The cost of doing nothing: Why AI adoption is no longer optional in CX.
Perceived importance of AI in eCommerce
Confidence in AI’s future role within eCommerce is nearly universal. Industry leaders increasingly view AI not as a standalone tool, but as a foundational capability that will influence how brands engage customers, operate efficiently, and drive growth in the years ahead.
The near-universal confidence in AI’s role
Almost all respondents agree: AI’s importance will only intensify over time. The consensus reflects a major shift in perception - AI is no longer a tool used to solve isolated problems, but a foundational technology shaping the future of commerce.
Key insight
- 92.9% of respondents believe AI will become more important in eCommerce over time.
This is the strongest consensus in the survey.
Takeaway
Leaders clearly see AI as a foundational layer of commerce - similar to payments, logistics, and storefronts. AI has moved from optional to inevitable.
Deployment channels
AI agents are no longer limited to website chat. Brands are increasingly deploying them across the channels where customers already spend their time, enabling faster, more seamless interactions throughout the buying and support journey.
Where AI Agents interact with customers today
AI agents have expanded far beyond traditional website chat and now operate across multiple high-engagement platforms.
Brands are deploying AI where customers naturally spend time - DMs, messaging apps, and voice channels, creating seamless, real-time experiences.
Deployment channels
- 81.7% deploy AI on website chat.
- 69.9% use AI in text messaging/SMS.
- 67.9% deploy AI in Instagram/social DMs.
- 62.8% use AI in voice/call interactions.
- 36.9% deploy AI in WhatsApp.
- 14.7% deploy in Email.
Takeaway
Commerce is increasingly shifting to private messaging surfaces - DMs, SMS, WhatsApp—where conversations drive decisions. Brands must meet customers where they already communicate.
AI’s projected impact by 2026
As AI agents become more capable and context-aware, businesses increasingly view them as a strategic layer for improving customer experience, streamlining operations, and driving business growth.
How leaders expect AI to shape operations
As autonomous ai agents grow more context-aware, brands expect them to take on more responsibility in support, sales, and engagement.
The forecast shows a future where AI is a central operational layer, especially in customer-facing functions, while also making real-time operational decisions such as inventory management. Their autonomous operation helps brands respond faster to demand fluctuations, improve resource efficiency, and lower labor costs.
Projected impact
- 49.4% expect AI to become a major support & CX layer.
- 16.7% see AI as a helpful secondary tool.
- 15.7% expect a limited or experimental role.
- 9% believe AI will become a core revenue-generating channel.
- 9.3% say AI is not part of their roadmap, a shrinking minority
Takeaway
While the strongest impact is expected in support, revenue-driving use cases are quickly rising as AI becomes more autonomous and context-aware, helping teams manage inventory levels and make other operational decisions in real time.
Related read: Uses of AI: How is AI revolutionizing your daily experiences.
Key takeaways & action items
The survey findings make one thing clear: AI is rapidly becoming a competitive necessity in eCommerce. The next phase is not deciding whether to adopt AI, but determining how to implement it effectively and at scale.
1. Adopt AI early in the buyer journey
Prioritize AI-powered product discovery, guided shopping, objection handling, and real-time personalization to improve customer engagement and conversion rates.
2. Build a hybrid workforce
Equip teams to work alongside AI by focusing on escalation management, quality control, brand voice consistency, and high-value customer interactions where human expertise matters most.
3. Track ROI aggressively
Measure AI performance against clear business outcomes, including:
- Resolved conversations
- Conversion rate uplift
- Average Order Value (AOV) improvements
- Cart recovery rates
4. Secure your data foundation
Invest in secure integrations, reliable customer data sources, compliance frameworks, and well-maintained knowledge bases to ensure accurate and trustworthy AI experiences.
5. Expand to high-volume messaging channels
Deploy AI agents where customers are most active, including Instagram DMs, SMS, and WhatsApp, to meet customers on their preferred communication channels.
6. Design for long-term scalability
Think beyond automation, create AI-led customer journeys that learn continuously, support workflow automation, and integrate cleanly with existing tools and existing workflows, while building for ai agent capabilities that can scale over time.
Final thoughts
From product discovery and customer support to revenue generation and operational efficiency, AI agents are helping brands create faster, more personalized, and more scalable customer experiences.
What stands out most is that successful adoption is not about replacing people. The future belongs to brands that combine AI-driven automation with human judgment, empathy, and strategic oversight.
The next era of eCommerce will be defined by intelligent, always-on experiences delivered across every channel.
For brands willing to invest today, AI agents offer a powerful opportunity to improve customer satisfaction, drive revenue growth, and build a more resilient operation for the future.
Frequently asked questions
1. What are AI agents in eCommerce?
AI agents are intelligent software systems that can understand customer intent, answer questions, recommend products, automate support tasks, and take actions across the customer journey. Unlike traditional chatbots, they can handle more complex interactions and operate across multiple channels.
2. What are the most common use cases for AI agents in eCommerce?
Brands primarily use AI agents for product discovery, customer support, FAQs, post-purchase assistance, cart recovery, upselling, cross-selling, order tracking, returns, and personalized shopping experiences.
3. Do AI agents replace human customer support teams?
No. Most organizations view AI as a complement to human teams. AI handles repetitive and high-volume interactions, while human agents focus on complex issues, escalations, relationship-building, and emotionally sensitive conversations.
4. Which channels are best suited for AI agent deployment?
Website chat remains the most common deployment channel, followed by SMS, Instagram DMs, voice interactions, WhatsApp, and email. Brands are increasingly adopting an omnichannel approach to meet customers where they already communicate.
5. Why are eCommerce brands investing in AI now?
Rising customer expectations, increasing support volumes, and the need for personalized experiences at scale are driving adoption. Businesses see AI as a way to improve customer experience, increase efficiency, and maintain a competitive advantage.
6. How can Skara help eCommerce brands adopt AI?
Skara provides purpose-built AI Agents for eCommerce that support product discovery, customer service, order management, cart recovery, and revenue generation across website chat, social messaging, SMS, WhatsApp, and voice channels. With deep platform integrations and brand-control features, Skara helps businesses deploy AI confidently while maintaining accuracy, consistency, and customer trust.
![14 Types of BigCommerce email to send [With templates]](/mm-images/types-of-bigcommerce-emails-kek9bdkx.jpg?width=295)
Key takeaways
The last 12 months have completely redefined what modern eCommerce looks like.
As customer expectations rose and competition intensified, businesses could no longer rely on traditional processes to scale efficiently.
AI quickly evolved from an experimental technology into a critical driver of growth, operational efficiency, and exceptional customer experiences.
This year’s AI Agents in eCommerce Survey brings together the perspectives of 312 ecommerce leaders - founders, CX directors, product heads, and support teams - to understand how AI agents are transforming the industry.
The findings are clear:
Yet despite this rapid adoption, the human element remains central - guiding strategy, defining brand voice, and stepping in for complex emotional scenarios, with the AI journey still relying on human users for direction and oversight.
We hope this report helps you understand where AI agents vs automation is headed, how leaders are adapting, and what opportunities lie ahead for eCommerce brands of every size.
Here’s to building the future of commerce: faster, smarter, and more customer-centric.
The evolution of eCommerce in the AI era
One of the biggest transformations is the emergence of AI Agents, which are redefining both buyer and support journeys.
From guiding shoppers with personalized recommendations to resolving customer queries instantly, AI Agents help brands deliver faster, more consistent, and highly contextual experiences across every touchpoint.
Next era of commerce is autonomous.
Your store should be too. Skara gives modern eCommerce brands the intelligence, speed, and autonomy needed to exceed customer expectations, every minute, every channel, every interaction.
How AI agents are redefining buyer and support journeys
The world of eCommerce is undergoing a fundamental shift, moving from static browsing to conversational, guided, personalized experiences.
Shoppers no longer passively navigate websites. They expect instant clarity, tailored recommendations, and seamless purchase paths.
AI agents are rapidly becoming the infrastructure behind modern eCommerce experiences, enabling businesses to deliver faster, more personalized customer interactions at scale.
While generative AI focuses on creating content from prompts, AI-driven shopper agents and search experiences are already reshaping buyer behavior, with traffic to retail sites from these sources growing 4,700% year over year.
From pre-purchase discovery to post-purchase resolution, AI systems now power adaptive experiences across every stage of the customer lifecycle - supporting revenue, speed, and satisfaction at scale.
Samir Motwani:
AI agents aren’t changing eCommerce by adding chat. They’re changing it by removing friction. When discovery, answers, and decisions happen in one continuous conversation, brands move faster, customers feel guided, and teams scale without losing control. This is commerce becoming intent-driven.
Who took the survey
The AI Agents in eCommerce Survey 2026 gathered insights from 312 professionals across leadership, customer support, sales, and product teams.
This diverse mix reflects how AI adoption is no longer confined to a single department, but is influencing decisions across customer experience, revenue growth, and product strategy.
Decision-makers driving modern eCommerce
The 2026 AI Agents in eCommerce Survey brings together insights from 312 industry professionals representing leadership, support, sales, and product functions.
This cross-functional mix reflects the reality of modern eCommerce teams, where CX, revenue, and product decisions increasingly converge.
Key insights
Takeaway
This mix reflects a balanced yet leadership-leaning sample - indicating that AI adoption discussions are not just operational but deeply strategic across organizations. AI is now a boardroom conversation, not a helpdesk initiative.
Company verticals
The survey highlights that AI is no longer limited to early adopters; businesses across categories are leveraging it to improve customer experiences, automate support, and drive more efficient buying journeys.
Which sectors are adopting AI agents the fastest
The eCommerce industry is far from monolithic. Brands across fashion, beauty, wellness, consumer goods, electronics, and luxury are all adopting AI agents - each with different expectations and use cases.
This survey’s vertical distribution highlights how AI adoption is no longer concentrated in one or two tech-forward sectors, but reflects a broader trend among ecommerce stores across categories adopting AI tools to stay competitive.
Key Insights
The largest segment, driven by high SKU counts, sizing queries, and product discovery complexity.
Everyday essentials see steady AI adoption to streamline FAQs and reduce support load.
Perfect for personalized recommendations, shade matching, and ingredient-based queries.
High-touch customer expectations make AI essential for instant, high-quality CX.
Takeaway
AI agents are not a niche solution - they are becoming foundational across categories because they improve personalized customer experiences and support operational efficiency at scale.
From high-volume apparel brands to experience-driven luxury retailers, companies across segments are embracing AI to streamline operations and improve buyer journeys.
Skara AI Agents: Transforming how eCommerce brands sell, support & scale
As this 2026 industry survey makes clear, AI agents are no longer a futuristic concept - they’re the new operating layer of modern commerce.
At the center of this shift is Skara AI agents, built as one of a new generation of intelligent agents powered by artificial intelligence to help eCommerce brands improve business operations while delivering fast, intelligent, fully autonomous customer experiences.
Unlike generative AI, which mainly creates content from prompts, Skara’s eCommerce AI Agents go beyond traditional chatbots.
They use natural language processing and machine learning in customer interactions to understand intent, guide shoppers through discovery, and recommend the right products.
They can also take autonomous actions across the customer journey to recover lost revenue, resolve post-purchase issues, and deliver personalized experiences in real time, across every channel your customers use.
Where appropriate, the platform can automate transactions such as order-related updates or delivery adjustments.
Whether you’re scaling support, improving your conversion rate, or creating seamless 24/7 experiences, Skara equips your brand with the power to deliver storefront intelligence at scale.
a. What Skara delivers
Skara provides AI Agents purpose-built for eCommerce, capable of handling the entire customer journey, from product discovery and guided shopping to order tracking, returns, exchanges, and replenishment requests.
Designed to operate across website chat, social DMs, SMS, WhatsApp, and voice channels, Skara helps brands deliver fast, consistent, and personalized support wherever customers choose to engage.
Built on a zero-hallucination architecture, Skara prioritizes accuracy, reliability, and brand safety while driving measurable business outcomes through upselling, cross-selling, abandoned cart recovery, and proactive customer engagement.
With deep integrations across Shopify, WooCommerce, and other leading eCommerce platforms, Skara fits seamlessly into existing systems and workflows.
Brands maintain complete control through customizable brand voice guidelines, approval workflows, and escalation paths, ensuring AI operates as an extension of the team, not a replacement for it.
b. Why leading brands choose Skara
Leading eCommerce brands choose Skara because it helps them balance growth, efficiency, and customer experience at scale.
By delivering real-time, intelligent recommendations, Skara enables teams to create more personalized shopping experiences, increase conversions, and unlock new revenue opportunities while maintaining consistent, on-brand customer interactions.
Skara also helps businesses reduce operational overhead by automating high-volume conversations without sacrificing service quality.
Whether during seasonal peaks, product launches, or major marketing campaigns, brands can scale support effortlessly while maintaining fast response times and high customer satisfaction.
The result is a smarter, more efficient operation where every customer interaction has the potential to drive revenue and strengthen loyalty.
Future of eCommerce runs on AI agents
Join the brands using Skara to deliver instant support, increase conversions, and create intelligent customer journeys across chat, social, voice, SMS, and WhatsApp.
The state of AI adoption
As brands look to scale customer engagement, streamline support, and drive revenue growth, AI agents are becoming a core part of how modern teams operate across the customer journey.
How extensively are brands using AI agents today
AI has shifted from experimentation to implementation. Brands are no longer debating whether AI should be used - they’re deciding how far, how fast, and which business processes and touchpoints should be automated first.
As customer interactions increase in volume and complexity, AI agents are becoming the scalable backbone of CX and sales operations.
Approximately one in three eCommerce brands actively utilize AI agents.
Key Insights:
Takeaway
The market is moving from adoption to scaling, and 73% of business leaders see their use of AI agents as a major competitive advantage.
In retail specifically, 75% of decision-makers say deploying AI agents will be vital to beating their competition.
AI no longer “sits on the sidelines”- it is embedded in live customer-facing workflows. The focus has shifted from “Should we use AI?” to “How fast can we expand it?”
Gartner predicts that 33% of enterprise software applications will include agent-based AI by 2028, up from less than 1% in 2024.
Value delivered by AI agents
From helping shoppers find the right products to providing instant support and driving repeat purchases, brands are seeing the strongest returns where speed, personalization, and convenience are critical.
Where AI agents drive the highest ROI
eCommerce brands are increasingly relying on AI to streamline product discovery, enhance customer support, and recover lost revenue.
The data shows AI agents excel where speed, personalization, and accuracy matter the most - especially in the high-intent moments before and after a purchase, when they use customer needs and customer history to improve personalization.
Key insights
Takeaway
AI agents are no longer support assistants - they’re revenue partners that increase customer retention by 10% to 15% and speed up buying decisions by guiding shoppers, resolving doubts, and helping customers complete purchases faster.
Shoppers interacting with AI agents complete transactions 47% faster and spend 32% more time exploring on-site content, improving operational efficiency.
Brands deploying autonomous agents see a 59% higher growth rate than those relying only on rules-based chatbots built on predefined rules.
Advanced AI agents also contribute to significant operational cost reductions, with 69% of companies reporting lower costs.
Drivers behind AI adoption
As customer interactions grow in volume and complexity, AI agents are helping businesses scale service quality without scaling teams at the same pace.
What’s motivating brands to invest in AI
AI adoption in eCommerce is driven by a blend of customer expectations and operational realities.
Shoppers now expect customer inquiries to be handled instantly, along with personalized recommendations and support that’s available around the clock - creating pressure on brands to scale beyond human-only teams.
Over 80% of customers are comfortable having shopping queries handled by AI agents when the response is instant.
Top motivations
Takeaway
The top two drivers are customer experience, not cost-cutting. Brands now understand that superior CX = higher conversions and helps them stay competitive. AI is becoming synonymous with scalable excellence.
Barriers & concerns
While AI agents adoption statistics continues to grow, brands remain focused on practical challenges such as proving ROI, ensuring data security, and maintaining consistent customer experiences.
These concerns reflect a shift from questioning AI’s potential to evaluating how it can be implemented reliably and responsibly at scale.
What’s slowing down wider adoption
Even though AI adoption is accelerating, brands still express concerns around ROI clarity, compliance, and maintaining brand consistency.
These concerns reflect a maturing space where leaders expect predictable outcomes and tighter alignment between AI and their existing workflows, complex workflows, and broader decision making processes without increasing risk.
The good news: concerns around hallucinations and accuracy are dropping sharply as AI architectures improve.
Top concerns
Takeaway
Leaders want measurable revenue lift, not vague productivity improvements. An AI that sounds off-brand breaks trust, especially in beauty, luxury, and wellness verticals. Real-world performance has improved dramatically with retrieval-augmented systems.
Humans + AI in 2026
The future of eCommerce is increasingly hybrid, combining the speed and scalability of AI with the judgment and empathy of human teams.
Rather than replacing people, AI is taking over repetitive tasks, allowing employees to focus on complex customer needs, strategic decisions, and high-value interactions.
Hybrid workforce is becoming the norm
AI is reshaping roles, not replacing them. As AI takes over repetitive, rule-based tasks, human teams are stepping into higher-value roles while human agents focus on complex or sensitive cases that require empathy, strategic decision-making, and escalations.
The future of work in eCommerce is hybrid: AI can perform tasks at scale, while human agents still handle exceptions and emotionally sensitive scenarios.
Key insights
Takeaway
AI is not replacing teams, it’s reshaping roles. Emerging human roles include: AI supervisors, Conversation designers, CX escalation specialists, and Workflow architects.
In consumer behavior, 24% are already comfortable delegating autonomous shopping to AI agents, while 36% prefer automated digital agents over human interaction.
AI handles the routines, but human supervision, human expertise, human intervention, and human approval still matter for exceptions and emotionally sensitive scenarios.
Perceived importance of AI in eCommerce
Confidence in AI’s future role within eCommerce is nearly universal. Industry leaders increasingly view AI not as a standalone tool, but as a foundational capability that will influence how brands engage customers, operate efficiently, and drive growth in the years ahead.
The near-universal confidence in AI’s role
Almost all respondents agree: AI’s importance will only intensify over time. The consensus reflects a major shift in perception - AI is no longer a tool used to solve isolated problems, but a foundational technology shaping the future of commerce.
Key insight
This is the strongest consensus in the survey.
Takeaway
Leaders clearly see AI as a foundational layer of commerce - similar to payments, logistics, and storefronts. AI has moved from optional to inevitable.
Deployment channels
AI agents are no longer limited to website chat. Brands are increasingly deploying them across the channels where customers already spend their time, enabling faster, more seamless interactions throughout the buying and support journey.
Where AI Agents interact with customers today
AI agents have expanded far beyond traditional website chat and now operate across multiple high-engagement platforms.
Brands are deploying AI where customers naturally spend time - DMs, messaging apps, and voice channels, creating seamless, real-time experiences.
Deployment channels
Takeaway
Commerce is increasingly shifting to private messaging surfaces - DMs, SMS, WhatsApp—where conversations drive decisions. Brands must meet customers where they already communicate.
AI’s projected impact by 2026
As AI agents become more capable and context-aware, businesses increasingly view them as a strategic layer for improving customer experience, streamlining operations, and driving business growth.
How leaders expect AI to shape operations
As autonomous ai agents grow more context-aware, brands expect them to take on more responsibility in support, sales, and engagement.
The forecast shows a future where AI is a central operational layer, especially in customer-facing functions, while also making real-time operational decisions such as inventory management. Their autonomous operation helps brands respond faster to demand fluctuations, improve resource efficiency, and lower labor costs.
Projected impact
Takeaway
While the strongest impact is expected in support, revenue-driving use cases are quickly rising as AI becomes more autonomous and context-aware, helping teams manage inventory levels and make other operational decisions in real time.
Key takeaways & action items
The survey findings make one thing clear: AI is rapidly becoming a competitive necessity in eCommerce. The next phase is not deciding whether to adopt AI, but determining how to implement it effectively and at scale.
1. Adopt AI early in the buyer journey
Prioritize AI-powered product discovery, guided shopping, objection handling, and real-time personalization to improve customer engagement and conversion rates.
2. Build a hybrid workforce
Equip teams to work alongside AI by focusing on escalation management, quality control, brand voice consistency, and high-value customer interactions where human expertise matters most.
3. Track ROI aggressively
Measure AI performance against clear business outcomes, including:
4. Secure your data foundation
Invest in secure integrations, reliable customer data sources, compliance frameworks, and well-maintained knowledge bases to ensure accurate and trustworthy AI experiences.
5. Expand to high-volume messaging channels
Deploy AI agents where customers are most active, including Instagram DMs, SMS, and WhatsApp, to meet customers on their preferred communication channels.
6. Design for long-term scalability
Think beyond automation, create AI-led customer journeys that learn continuously, support workflow automation, and integrate cleanly with existing tools and existing workflows, while building for ai agent capabilities that can scale over time.
Final thoughts
From product discovery and customer support to revenue generation and operational efficiency, AI agents are helping brands create faster, more personalized, and more scalable customer experiences.
What stands out most is that successful adoption is not about replacing people. The future belongs to brands that combine AI-driven automation with human judgment, empathy, and strategic oversight.
The next era of eCommerce will be defined by intelligent, always-on experiences delivered across every channel.
For brands willing to invest today, AI agents offer a powerful opportunity to improve customer satisfaction, drive revenue growth, and build a more resilient operation for the future.
Frequently asked questions
1. What are AI agents in eCommerce?
AI agents are intelligent software systems that can understand customer intent, answer questions, recommend products, automate support tasks, and take actions across the customer journey. Unlike traditional chatbots, they can handle more complex interactions and operate across multiple channels.
2. What are the most common use cases for AI agents in eCommerce?
Brands primarily use AI agents for product discovery, customer support, FAQs, post-purchase assistance, cart recovery, upselling, cross-selling, order tracking, returns, and personalized shopping experiences.
3. Do AI agents replace human customer support teams?
No. Most organizations view AI as a complement to human teams. AI handles repetitive and high-volume interactions, while human agents focus on complex issues, escalations, relationship-building, and emotionally sensitive conversations.
4. Which channels are best suited for AI agent deployment?
Website chat remains the most common deployment channel, followed by SMS, Instagram DMs, voice interactions, WhatsApp, and email. Brands are increasingly adopting an omnichannel approach to meet customers where they already communicate.
5. Why are eCommerce brands investing in AI now?
Rising customer expectations, increasing support volumes, and the need for personalized experiences at scale are driving adoption. Businesses see AI as a way to improve customer experience, increase efficiency, and maintain a competitive advantage.
6. How can Skara help eCommerce brands adopt AI?
Skara provides purpose-built AI Agents for eCommerce that support product discovery, customer service, order management, cart recovery, and revenue generation across website chat, social messaging, SMS, WhatsApp, and voice channels. With deep platform integrations and brand-control features, Skara helps businesses deploy AI confidently while maintaining accuracy, consistency, and customer trust.
Shivani Tripathi
Shivani TripathiShivani is a passionate writer who found her calling in storytelling and content creation. At Salesmate, she collaborates with a dynamic team of creators to craft impactful narratives around marketing and sales. She has a keen curiosity for new ideas and trends, always eager to learn and share fresh perspectives. Known for her optimism, Shivani believes in turning challenges into opportunities. Outside of work, she enjoys introspection, observing people, and finding inspiration in everyday moments.