According to the 2026 Global Digital Shopping Index by PYMNTS and Visa, only 11% of small and medium-sized businesses are ready for AI agents, compared to 19% of large merchants. Despite this, 68% of merchants expect AI agents to drive at least 5% of digital sales within two years, while 38% anticipate this figure will exceed 15%.
Sara Craven, general manager of Verifi/ANET at Visa, suggests that smaller firms may adapt faster than larger competitors. Currently, only 15% of all merchants have structured their product data to be accessible by AI agents. This data includes precise descriptions, inventory, pricing, and payment options, which are essential for AI to recommend products to consumers.
Measuring the impact of AI remains a challenge, as 37% of merchants cannot distinguish AI-driven traffic from other digital sources. Only 23% of businesses can clearly identify both traffic and completed purchases generated by AI. Consequently, many merchants are prioritizing checkout, payment options, and fraud controls over other features.
Merchants are increasingly focusing on their own applications, with 57% reporting growth in sales through this channel. While 87% of merchants acknowledge that their current checkout processes require improvements, the integration of AI requires businesses to ensure their product information is machine-readable to remain visible in the evolving digital landscape.
