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Agentic commerce is redefining control, revenue, and customer ownership

AI agents are becoming the new buyer interface, shifting control away from brands and redefining how commerce decisions are made. New HFS Research, conducted in partnership with Cognizant, found that 59% of surveyed retail, CPG, travel and hospitality enterprises expect at least 15% of direct consumer revenue to flow through agent-mediated channels within two years. Yet many still lack the identity, authentication, fraud, payment, trust and first-party data foundations needed to compete.

The winners will be those that build the execution engine now, before agents own the customer relationship.

Drawing on the survey of 101 senior commerce, marketing and digital leaders across the US and Canada, the report reveals four critical readiness gaps enterprises must close to compete in agent-mediated commerce:

  • Revenue through agents will rapidly accelerate

    Most enterprises generate under 5% of revenue via agents today, but a majority expect 15% or more within 24 months, signaling a rapid and inevitable channel shift.

  • Agent readiness is scaling faster than capability

    Only 15% of enterprises operate cross-channel today, yet 71% plan to within two years. Current pilot-driven approaches cannot bridge this gap.

  • Brands risk losing direct customer ownership

    While 78% see first-party data as critical, only 37% have a plan to retain the customer relationship when agents sit between brand and buyer.

  • Enterprises need builders, not advisors

    The biggest partner gaps are outcome accountability, AI-native delivery, and production track record—highlighting a lack of execution focus.

Download the full report
We do not own checkout anyway, so being the brand the agent recommends is the whole game for us now.
— VP eCommerce, Specialty Retailer

71%

plan agent readiness within 24 months

59% → 15%+

expected revenue via agents in 2 years

78% vs 37%

gap in owning customer relationships

THE BOTTOM LINE

Your customer will be controlled by someone else’s agent

Compete in the agent economy by building identity, trust, and payment infrastructure, owning the customer relationship, and choosing partners that deliver outcomes.

Read the full report

Ready to compete in the agent economy?

Build the foundation now before agents control your growth

Cognizant.com