The Customer Sent a Representative.

Did you know that getting HIGH can make you imagine a shopping trip without the shopper? Before you celebrate, someone still has to pay.

I was looking for a cabin bag. I gave an AI assistant a budget, a size requirement and a delivery date. It began helping me compare options.

I walked into my conversation with M.R.K looking unusually pleased with my delegation skills.

MeI have hired a shopping assistant.

M.R.KDoes it carry the bag?

MeIt compares them. One day it might do the buying too.

M.R.KDoes it know which airline you are flying?

MeI said cabin bag.

M.R.KAirlines have managed to make those two words surprisingly complicated.

I checked my ticket and adjusted the brief.

MeFine. Exact dimensions, not “travel friendly.”

M.R.KThat is already an interesting lesson for a brand.

MeHow so?

M.R.KA customer’s representative may ask precise questions before being impressed by a beautiful photograph. Dimensions. Stock. Total price. Delivery timing. Returns. Warranty. Your page needs to answer them clearly.

MeSo by 2027 all brands will be selling to machines?

M.R.KWe are discussing a direction, not reading next year’s attendance register. Shopping assistance and agentic checkout are developing. Availability differs by service, market and merchant. People will still browse, choose and change their minds.

MeGoogle has already announced agentic shopping tools.

M.R.KYes. That makes this worth preparing for. It does not mean your neighbour’s shop can assume every customer has delegated the purchase.

MeWhat changes when the assistant enters?

M.R.KThe customer’s intention has another interpreter. If you ask for the cheapest suitable bag, it needs to know what “suitable” includes. A cheap bag that arrives after your flight is an expensive mistake.

MeAnd a brand needs accurate information that can be understood.

M.R.KExactly. Keep the product page and relevant product feeds consistent. Explain charges and exclusions. Make policies clear. For actual agent-based transactions, integrations and permissions depend on the service being used; a nice paragraph alone does not connect your checkout.

MeDoes brand personality become irrelevant?

M.R.KWhy? You might tell the assistant you trust a particular brand or care about repairability. Preference does not vanish because someone helps compare. But unprovable adjectives are poor substitutes for product facts.

MeWho gives the final permission to buy?

M.R.KThat must be clear in the service and the customer’s settings. Delegation needs boundaries: budget, allowed actions and when to ask again. Convenience should not quietly become a decision the customer never authorised.

For 2027, the useful outlook is a preparation question: if someone brought a well-written shopping brief to your store today, could your information answer it? That question matters whether the representative is a person or software.

MeI should add “ask me before purchasing” to the brief.

M.R.KSensible.

MeAnd “do not choose the colour.”

M.R.KBecause you have strong taste?

MeBecause my wife does.