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Introduction to Agentic Commerce: eBay’s Stance on AI-Powered Shopping Agents
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has led to the emergence of a new category of tools designed to browse, compare, and purchase products on behalf of users, known as “agentic commerce.” Recently, eBay updated its User Agreement to explicitly ban third-party “buy for me” agents and AI chatbots from interacting with its platform without permission. This move reflects the rapid growth of AI-powered shopping agents and their potential impact on e-commerce.
Understanding eBay’s Updated Terms of Service
eBay’s updated terms, which will go into effect on February 20, 2026, specifically prohibit users from employing “buy-for-me agents, LLM-driven bots, or any end-to-end flow that attempts to place orders without human review” to access eBay’s services without the site’s permission. This update is significant, as it acknowledges the existence and potential influence of AI-powered shopping agents on online marketplaces. The previous version of the agreement contained a general prohibition on robots, spiders, scrapers, and automated data gathering tools but did not mention AI agents or LLMs by name.
The Rise of Agentic Commerce
At first glance, the phrase “agentic commerce” may sound like aspirational marketing jargon, but the tools are already here, and people are apparently using them. OpenAI, for example, first added shopping features to ChatGPT Search in April 2025, allowing users to browse product recommendations. By September, the company launched Instant Checkout, which lets users purchase items from Etsy and Shopify merchants directly within the chat interface. This development has sparked interest in the potential for AI-powered shopping agents to transform the e-commerce landscape.
Expert Insights and Future Developments
In November, eBay CEO Jamie Iannone suggested the company might join OpenAI’s Instant Checkout program in the future. As the use of AI-powered shopping agents continues to grow, it is essential to consider the implications of agentic commerce on online marketplaces and the retail industry as a whole. For more information on this topic, visit Here
Image Credit: arstechnica.com