Observed Signal · Jun 29, 2026 · Panel Discussion · Source: The Drum · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Agentic Commerce Could Remove Brands From Consideration
At a Cannes Lions session reported by The Drum, Circana speakers Lindsay Pullins and Cara Pratt argued that 'agentic' AI-driven shopping systems are already reshaping commerce. Circana research cited: 10% of North American beauty e‑commerce now comes from social commerce and 70% of shoppers use AI for product discovery/search. In agentic environments, AI agents compare product attributes, price, availability and reviews before consumers engage, meaning brands with inconsistent product data, taxonomies or ambiguous claims risk being excluded from consideration. Retail media is critical because it holds the purchase signals agents need, but measurement fragmentation across retail networks and inconsistent methodologies hinder interoperability. Pullins and Pratt called for brands to test how AI evaluates their products and for industry standardization around measurement and product data to avoid lost visibility and sales.
Highlights the rising role of retail media and product data in AI-driven ('agentic') commerce and warns brands risk exclusion without standardized product data and interoperable measurement—important for retailers, brands, and measurement vendors though not a single-platform policy shift.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Circana reports 10% of beauty e‑commerce sales in North America now originate from social commerce.
- Circana consumer survey finds 70% of shoppers already use AI for product discovery and search.
- Agentic systems can autonomously compare product attributes, pricing, availability and reviews and narrow or make choices before consumer involvement.
- Brands with inconsistent product data, incomplete taxonomy, or ambiguous claims risk being excluded from agentic comparisons and losing sales.
- Retail media contains the purchase signals agentic systems will need, but measurement inconsistency and fragmented access across retail networks remain obstacles.
Connected Companies & Entities
1 Entity mapped“10% of beauty e-commerce sales in North America now originate from social commerce. That figure, from Circana’s first US social commerce mar...”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Testing Essential as Agentic Commerce Emerges
Circana executives Cara Pratt and Lindsay Pullins tell The Drum that as AI reshapes product discovery and purchasing, brands must rapidly experiment and prepare for an era of 'agentic' commerce where algorithms — and AI agents — influence or make buying decisions. They argue brands need clear product data, accurate taxonomies, trusted reviews and consistent brand signals so AI recommends their products correctly. Success requires combining strong data foundations with speed, precision and continuous feedback loops. The conversation also frames retail media not just as an advertising channel but as a connected ecosystem of retailers, publishers, brands and AI platforms sharing richer signals.
Risk of Agentic Commerce for Brand Discovery
This analysis warns that AI agents shifting product discovery away from humans create a risk for brands: being algorithmically legible is not the same as being preferred. The piece contrasts OpenAI’s short-lived Instant Checkout with Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol, notes early consumer research showing AI-driven discovery, and argues brands must capture zero- and first-party preference data and own the discovery moment. The author (citing strategist Jess Graham) coins concepts like “agentic invisibility” and “discovery tax” to describe the economic impact when agents make purchases without human engagement, and recommends data-architecture audits, ownership of relationship data, and marketing-led stewardship of agent-facing signals.
AI agents reshape commerce, measurement must catch up
As AI agents increasingly handle product discovery and purchase, brands, retailers, and platforms are investing in new measurement strategies. Google's Universal Commerce Protocol and OpenAI's Agentic Commerce Protocol enable end-to-end shopping within AI experiences. NIQ and Similarweb have partnered to integrate AI-driven discovery measurement with retail sales data, helping brands gauge visibility and conversion. Key measurement areas include consumer intent, agentic shelf visibility, product content readiness, AI-driven traffic, and omnichannel purchase correlation. Emerging capabilities include OpenAI's ChatGPT pre-purchase signals, Mastercard and Visa's 'Know Your Agent' frameworks, and cross-channel identity resolution. Agentic commerce measurement is nascent, but these advancements are closing the gap between AI influence and sales attribution.
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