The number of consumers using agentic commerce, where artificial intelligence (AI) systems can independently assist with shopping and payment decisions, is projected to rise to 1.3 billion users by 2031, up from fewer than 300 million users in 2026, according to a new report by global technology research firm Juniper Research.
The forecast represents a growth of nearly 350 per cent over the next five years, driven by increasing adoption of AI-powered shopping tools, stronger support from retailers and the expansion of payment infrastructure designed to support autonomous transactions.
The report, titled “Agentic Commerce Market 2026-2031,” said the technology is expected to move from an emerging concept into mainstream digital commerce as consumers become more familiar with AI systems and businesses increasingly integrate intelligent agents into their platforms.
Agentic commerce enables AI-powered systems to perform tasks on behalf of users, including searching for products, comparing options, making recommendations and completing transactions based on user preferences.
Juniper Research noted that while consumer awareness and trust in agentic commerce remain relatively low, adoption is expected to accelerate as AI becomes more embedded in everyday activities and retailers begin offering direct support for AI-driven shopping experiences.
The research firm identified three major factors expected to fuel growth in the market: increasing deployment of agentic capabilities by retailers, rising consumer confidence in AI systems and improved availability of payment infrastructure that enables automated transactions.
However, the report warned that the future growth of agentic commerce will depend heavily on payment flexibility, noting that consumers will expect to use their preferred payment methods when interacting with AI-driven shopping platforms.
According to the report, card payments are currently leading the development of payment systems supporting agentic commerce, with major card networks participating in early pilots and infrastructure frameworks.
Despite this early advantage, Juniper Research said excessive reliance on card payments could limit the broader growth of the market, particularly in regions where alternative payment methods such as digital wallets and account-to-account payments are widely used.
Nick Maynard, vice president of research at Juniper Research, said supporting diverse payment options would be critical to achieving wider adoption of agentic commerce.
“Cards increasingly support agent payments through tokenisation, but card domination within agentic commerce is not in the market’s best interests, given how important payment preferences are within eCommerce,” Maynard said.
He added that failure to integrate popular local payment methods could restrict the market’s growth potential as consumers continue to demand greater flexibility in how they pay.
As AI continues to reshape online shopping, Juniper Research expects businesses and payment providers that can combine intelligent automation with secure and flexible payment options to gain a stronger position in the emerging agentic commerce ecosystem.
