Microsoft Guides Businesses on AI-Powered Shopping with New Agentic Playbook

Microsoft Advertising has released an agentic commerce blueprint to guide businesses and retailers in preparing for AI agents making purchases on behalf of humans. The 'Agentic Playbook' focuses on three priorities: getting discovered by the agent, ensuring a seamless purchase process, and optimizing performance.

The playbook suggests a 90-day structure for marketers to build their foundation, with the first 45 days focusing on product feeds and checkout processes, and the second 45 days on using data to optimize content. Microsoft unveiled the blueprint during an online briefing with marketers, where one director noted that she can already see a change in consumer behavior.

Microsoft Copilot runs on the Universal Commerce Protocol (UPC), which is also used by giants like Target, Ulta Beauty, and Stripe. Bain & Company estimates that agentic U.S. e-commerce will account for 15% to 25% of the market by 2030.