Google recently launched Universal Cart, an AI shopping hub that lets you save, track, and buy products from different stores in one place. Between that, Meta’s new AI shopping features, and a wave of other agentic commerce announcements, I was reminded of a conversation I had at Amazon Accelerate with Dewar Gaines, owner of Gaines Family Farmstead pet treats.

We ended up talking a lot about livestream shopping, mostly because Gaines expects livestream sales from platforms like Whatnot, TikTok, and Amazon to drive about 15% of his revenue this year—a massive jump from 1% last year. But getting it right took a lot of trial and error. During the first 50 or so hours he spent livestreaming, he was focused on trying to sell.

And as he put it, the results were “abysmal.”

Then came a turning point (and he gave me full permission to share this). One night, after a couple of beers, he went live. And it ended up being his best stream yet. Now, I’m not saying liquid courage is a business strategy, but the spirit of those beers changed everything. It loosened him up and so he could be himself and tell his brand story. Instead of treating the livestream like an aggressive infomercial, he made it more like a virtual farmers market—a place to hang out, chat with pet lovers, and casually share what makes his single-ingredient treats so special.

For Gaines, livestream shopping was a game-changer. It allowed his brand to create the kind of intimacy and personal connection that’s nearly impossible to pull off in standard ecommerce. Shoppers tune in regularly now, and they’ve built such a tight bond with him that some even sent birthday gifts to his daughter.

That kind of relationship-building has always been great for business, but it will be critical as AI shopping agents like Universal Cart take off. At EMARKETER, we forecast that 109.3 million US consumers will use generative AI for shopping-related tasks at least monthly by 2030, representing 31.7% of the US population. As more consumers turn to AI to research products and simplify purchases, retailers and brands will need to give shoppers reasons to look beyond price and convenience—and to care about who they’re buying from.

Let’s be honest: Most people don’t have the time or inclination to spend hours comparison shopping. If an AI agent can instantly scour the web and buy things for you, a lot of everyday shopping will get commoditized fast, triggering a race to the bottom on price.

That’s why Gaines’ experience is so important for those of us watching this space. As machines take over more of the functional parts of shopping, the human connection actually becomes more valuable. When an algorithm can find the cheapest dog treat on the planet, competing on price is a losing game. Your real edge is giving customers a reason to care about who they’re buying from.

The pressure is on for brands and retailers to figure out what actually makes them worth caring about.

For a company like Gaines Family Farmstead, that magic ingredient is livestreaming. For others, it may be physical retail,a space where you can win on things an algorithm just can’t replace—expertise, great service, and real human trust. And the brick-and-mortar story is far from over: EMARKETER forecasts that 82.6% of retail sales will still happen offline this year. In-store will hold onto the overwhelming majority of sales through 2030. That means physical stores are an enormous opportunity to build those lasting connections.

Take Abt, the legendary family-owned retailer in suburban Chicago. The retailer has turned buying appliances and consumer electronics into a full-blown outing. Their 100,000-square-foot showroom packs a massive atrium, dancing fountain, a 7,500-gallon saltwater aquarium, Hershey’s miniatures at every counter, and free fresh-baked cookies on weekends—all backed by expert staff who know their categories inside and out.

Handing out cookies won’t fix every retailer’s problems. But the core lesson holds: You have to find the unique thing that keeps your brand from becoming just another commodity in AI’s search results.