One day, my colleague, David Birch, was running late for his morning train in England. He parked in his usual lot, raced to the platform, and made it just in time. But there was one problem: he forgot to pay for parking. When he returned hours later, he found a ticket on his windshield. The municipal parking system already had his license plate, location, and credit card—so why couldn’t it process the transaction automatically instead of sending him to the ticketing office?

Agentic commerce is designed to solve challenges like these. It represents the next phase of digital commerce, where AI agents don’t just assist us–they act on our behalf. These agents can initiate payments, negotiate with other agents, and make independent decisions based on our preferences and rules. They’ll mostly operate invisibly in the background, completing tasks automatically. But we may notice them in  simple dashboards where we set boundaries like “always pay this bill,” “flag anything over $500,” or “choose only Canadian providers.” Instead of tapping, clicking, or logging in, the transaction  happens with limited prompting.

I’ve spent my career at the intersection of commerce and digital transformation, including the last 12 years leading digital strategy and innovation at Interac, recognized as Canada’s most reputable financial services brand. From building new payment experiences to shaping digital identity, my work has focused on helping Canadians transact securely and confidently. That’s why I see agentic commerce not as an abstract concept but as a practical shift businesses must prepare for now. 

The bigger story for Canadian businesses is how these dynamics will reshape the broader economy. A 2023 report by McKinsey estimates AI adoption could add up to $4.6 trillion annually to the global economy by 2030, boosting cost efficiency and customer engagement. AI agents will change how customers choose providers, and how companies manage costs, contracts, and customer experiences. Industries with strong digital touchpoints and abundant customer data like retail, hospitality, financial services, and professional services, are best positioned to benefit first.

Take the example of a hotel. Agentic commerce could automatically upgrade a guest’s room using loyalty points or pre-book amenities based on past stays. A bank might shift funds to avoid overdraft fees without manual approval, with customer consent. A small accounting team could extract invoice data from emails and automatically issue payments or reminders. Businesses that make experiences easier, faster, and more personalized will thrive.

Shopify offers a real-world example of agentic commerce in action. Unlike traditional e-commerce, where customers browse and click through storefronts, agentic commerce embeds shopping into AI-powered conversations. When a customer chats with an AI assistant and asks for a product, the assistant can search, recommend, and complete the purchase within the chat. Instead of building complex systems from scratch, small to medium-sized businesses (SMB) can tap into readymade commerce networks that make their products discoverable and purchasable through AI agents. Similar models are emerging globally, such as Walmart’s partnership with OpenAI, enabling shoppers to browse and buy products directly via ChatGPT’s Instant Checkout feature. As these systems mature, they will extend to platforms serving smaller businesses, lowering technical barriers, and opening new opportunities for SMBs.

Agentic commerce also changes how customers choose providers. Businesses have long relied on advertising, sponsorships, and branding to influence human decisions, but autonomous agents focus purely on performance and fit. An AI agent seeking the best mortgage rate might apply criteria like “Canadian provider,” “reputable history”, and “competitive rate”. It won’t care about which bank sponsors the local hockey team. Selection will be based on meeting user needs and criteria—not marketing influence. AI agents could even outperform human decision-making by scanning hundreds of options, applying rules consistently, and avoiding bias. For Canadian businesses, that means rethinking customer strategy to deliver real value, align with customer expectations, and integrate seamlessly with agentic systems.

While big tech companies and large enterprises like banks and telecoms have laid the groundwork, the real opportunity lies in how SMBs use agentic commerce. Imagine an agent that scans emails to generate invoices, cancels unused software, negotiates better vendor pricing, and sources suppliers—comparing offers and finalizing contracts based on preset criteria. For SMBs, which often run lean, automating repetitive tasks could be transformative, unlocking efficiency at a time when margins are tight and competition fierce.

Of course, the road to agentic commerce faces obstacles. I believe the biggest challenges are cultural, not technical. Nearly three years after ChatGPT’s release, many business owners remain unfamiliar with AI or are hesitant to trust it acting autonomously. A June 2025 Statistics Canada survey found that just over 12 per cent of Canadian businesses had used AI to produce goods or services in the past year, and less than one in five planned to adopt AI software in the year ahead.

Inertia is another barrier. A café owner focused on keeping the lights on may lack bandwidth to rethink payments or procurement. A manufacturer may hesitate due to regulatory concerns. Even tech-savvy entrepreneurs may prefer approving transactions themselves. Critics raise valid concerns about over-reliance on automation, algorithmic bias, and reduced transparency when agents act in the background. Building trust will take time and tangible proof—showing systems work reliably in real business settings and ensuring human override is always available. Education, transparency, and clear evidence are essential for adoption.

Businesses also need to learn how to set guardrails—defining which decisions agents make automatically, which require human approval, and how to audit actions. This might mean tiered approvals, transaction caps, or dashboards that make agent activity visible and adjustable. With the right balance of automation and oversight, companies can adopt agentic systems responsibly.

Canada has a real opportunity to lead agentic commerce by embedding national values like privacy, consent, and transparency. Momentum is growing at the enterprise level. Bell Canada’s partnership with Toronto-based Cohere is a prime example: Cohere’s North platform integrates into Bell’s AI Fabric, allowing businesses and government agencies to deploy AI agents without building their own infrastructure. Bell provides secure data centres and networks, while Cohere supplies models and tools—all hosted in Canada to protect data residency and security. Bell’s teams are already building agents on their data, automating workflows while keeping humans in control. Other businesses can follow: partnerships between established players and homegrown innovators will accelerate adoption while keeping control local.

Related: Are Canada’s Small Businesses Ready to Embrace the Promise of AI?

When I speak of Canadian values, I mean systems that protect privacy, promote fairness, and expand access. The goal isn’t just efficiency for  large corporations—it’s ensuring that SMBs, the backbone of Canada’s economy, and underserved communities can benefit too. By building a roadmap now, we can ensure agentic commerce grows on Canadian terms, with these values at its core.

Agentic commerce isn’t science fiction—it’s an emerging reality reshaping how businesses and consumers interact. For Canadian companies, the question isn’t if this shift will come but how ready they’ll be when it does.  Those who adopt early will gain efficiency, boost customer loyalty, and expand their reach–while those who delay risk being left behind as the rules of commerce are rewritten without them.