Internet/e-Commerce: Agentic AI and the promise of a more capable Internet

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Internet/e-Commerce: Agentic AI and the promise of a more capable Internet

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Internet/e-Commerce

Agentic AI and the promise of a more

capable Internet

Industry Overview

The Agentic Era moving from concept to reality 28 May 2026

The emergence of ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google AI Mode is changing how consumers Equity

interact with the Internet, with conversational AI increasingly becoming a primary United States

interface for discovery and decision-making. Agentic AI will build on this evolution, Justin Post

advancing Internet gateway (search) capabilities from information retrieval to evaluation Research Analyst

and automated task execution. We think of agents as an embedded productivity BofAS+1 415 676 3547

software tool for consumers, with the potential to significantly enhance decision quality justin.post@bofa.com

while reducing transaction friction. Given rapidly changing user behavior and Nitin Bansal, CFA

expectations, we think transaction-based verticals, such as eCommerce, Online travel, ResearchBofAS Analyst

and finance, will need to build their own front-end AI chat and downstream Agentic +1 415 676 3551

nbansal7@bofa.com

capabilities to maintain their relevance with consumers.

Marketplaces will still offer significant consumer value

AI cannot secure differentiated supply, deliver products in one hour, or pass on network

effect cost savings. As users become more accustomed to AI interactions (Google AI Mode 3P: Third Party

now has 1bn users), Online travel and eCommerce marketplaces will need to focus on two AI: Artificial Intelligence

areas: 1) Competitive front-end AI experiences to maintain direct traffic, and 2) Maximizing Gen-AI: Generative AI

product differentiation, especially in the physical world.