The promise of agentic commerce is that AI will collapse the path to purchase, handling everything from product research to checkout on consumers’ behalf. Shoppers aren't ready to give up control, and AI may actually be adding complexity to their journeys, according to EMARKETER principal analyst Sky Canaves, speaking at the EMARKETER Future of Digital summit this week.

“We can't necessarily engineer away the human desire to shop,” Canaves said.

Consumers aren't ready to hand shopping over to AI

Human agency remains one of the biggest barriers to agentic commerce. Canaves pointed to a survey from PayPal that found the leading reason consumers don't use AI to shop is that they prefer to do it themselves.

“That human connection to how we buy is very long-standing,” she said.

That doesn't mean consumers aren't using AI for shopping. More than half of US generative AI users already use the technology for some form of shopping activity, and another 30 million AI digital shoppers will emerge by 2030, per EMARKETER forecasts.

Those consumers still keep their hands on the cart.

“They're not just buyers, they're people who do any kind of shopping activity, researching products, comparing prices, and so on online,” said Canaves.

AI is finding its place in the middle of the funnel

For now, AI’s biggest influence on the purchase journey is happening well before checkout. Consumers are using AI to look up product details, compare prices, and research specific products rather than letting agents execute purchases.

“All of these regular AI-assisted shoppers, they're using it mostly for these mid-funnel behaviors,” Canaves said.

But more AI doesn't necessarily mean a shorter purchase journey. Shoppers who use AI engage with 12 times as many touchpoints as those who don't, according to Google research.

“Now that doesn't necessarily simplify or shorten the path to purchase,” said Canaves.

Instead, AI recommendations can send shoppers elsewhere for validation. More touchpoints create more opportunities to influence shoppers, but they also make attribution more difficult and increase the need for content that can support consumers across channels.

Social commerce is turning discovery into transactions

That need for external validation helps reinforce the role of social platforms in the purchase journey. Reviews, user-generated content, creators, and expert testimony can provide the social proof consumers seek after encountering a recommendation from AI.

Social media isn't just influencing purchases. Increasingly, it's where those purchases happen. Social has overtaken search engines for product discovery in EMARKETER's path-to-purchase survey, with an even greater disparity in categories such as fashion and beauty, according to Canaves.

TikTok Shop is helping accelerate that shift. After just a few years in the US, it is expected to rank as the No. 8 US online retailer in 2027.

Gen Z offers marketers a roadmap

Gen Z brings all of these trends together. The generation already leads other demographics in both generative AI usage and social buying. By 2030, when every Gen Zer will be an adult, it will also be the largest cohort of online buyers.

“Gen Z moves fluidly between social AI, retailer apps, and physical stores,” said Canaves.

That behavior previews a purchase journey in which AI replaces nothing. Consumers move among AI, social platforms, retailer sites and apps, and physical stores as they discover, research, validate, and buy products.

“Brands have to ensure that that journey is as enjoyable as the destination,” Canaves said. “Plan for more complexity in the shopper journey, not less any time soon, and take your guidance from Gen Z and how their path is evolving across AI, social, and IRL.”

For marketers, the near-term AI opportunity isn't autonomous checkout. It's reaching consumers in the middle of the funnel, when they're actively researching and evaluating purchases. Don't expect AI to make that journey simpler anytime soon.

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