Interview with Ed Diaz
Aneetha goes over business cost reduction techniques to make your business lean & mean.
What is agentic commerce and what does your business need to know?
One payment trend business owners may encounter in 2026, whether they want to or not, is agentic commerce. As AI evolves and becomes a bigger staple in everyday life, the way consumers want to make payments is consequently affected. In this article, we’re taking a look at agentic commerce and what businesses that accept online payments can expect.
What is agentic commerce?
Simply put, agentic commerce is the process by which an AI agent shops and potentially makes purchases on behalf of a customer. It’s also being called ‘a-commerce.’
Think of it like this; a customer using an AI tool gives a specific prompt for a flight to be purchased. Leaving from a specific airport, arriving at a specific time, within a specific price range, etc. The AI agent scours the internet for the best options, at a quicker speed than the user can, and presents the best options. Once the customer approves, the AI agent completes the purchase. This prevents the customer from having to do their own manual research or even from dealing with the checkout window.
When a user gives an AI agent a search query, it uses different protocols – such as Model Context Protocol (MCP) – to check product data in real time, accounting not just for price but for factors like return policies, shipping estimates, and more.
What does this mean for businesses?
For businesses that rely on online marketing to boost their sales, agentic commerce may throw a wrench in your usual strategy. AI tools aren’t going to be as swayed by typical marketing techniques, favoring “clean and structured data, fast responses and zero guesswork.”
Of course, not everyone is adopting a-commerce. Traditional digital marketing strategies still matter. Businesses who find that this trend is impacting them must be proactive in appealing to both types of shoppers; human and artificial intelligence.
Part of that includes building payment processing flows that can handle agent-initiated payments; something you may need to speak to your merchant services solution provider about. Likewise, while a-commerce agents can search regular websites and product listings, some companies are starting to build sites optimized for this purpose, including product catalogues and checkout flows meant to be agent-readable, rather than best for human use.
Who are the agents in agentic commerce?
The agents in question are “autonomous or semiautonomous software programmes that use artificial intelligence.” But who is operating these platforms? AI developers as well as payment processing companies both have their foot in the door of this new landscape. Stripe, Open AI, Google, and Amazon are all among the companies working to deliver these platforms.
In conclusion…
As AI becomes a larger presence in our lives, businesses have to adjust strategies to account for new consumer behavior, which businesses should be aware of if they do online sales. If your platform doesn’t account for it, your competitors’ may.
Start 2026 Strong!
It’s easy to fall victim to setting those New Year’s resolutions only to let our busy lives get in the way of the follow through. This year could be no different if you don’t implement some solid work-related intentions. In this edition of The Pulse, we discuss six helpful ways to start your year off strong.
Reflection and Redirection
After spending the month of December preparing for the holidays, spending valuable quality time with family and eating to our hearts’ content, we may also find ourselves reflecting on the past year. The new year can be a perfect time to reassess your professional goals based on the reflection you’ve done. Are the goals you set last year still aligned with what you wish to accomplish in the coming year? Are your intentions still the same; will they still help get you to the result you originally planned for? Do those goals still excite and inspire you? If the answers to questions like these are no longer supporting your vision for the new year, take them time to reassess, you owe it to yourself and your business!
Once you’ve established a few concrete goals for the new year, it is important to continue to revisit often, maybe monthly, to ensure you’re on track. Without a clear vision for the future ahead, it can be far too easy to fall off track. As you monitor your progress throughout the year, it will become much more apparent when you’ve taken a misstep.
A Mindset for Growth
Along the same lines, a plan written down is just that, a plan. Like previously mentioned, it takes constant monitoring and dedication to ensure your goals are being worked toward efficiently, but that is not all. Above all, you have to want to reach that end goal. Set yourself up for success by ensuring that the goals you’ve set are not only achievable but are also something you really want to strive for. Your mindset should match the steps required to achieve your goal.
Reimagine your Productivity
A study done by Redbooth outlined when people are the most and least productive. In a typical day, most tasks are completed at around 11:00 a.m. with productivity dropping after lunch with a complete plummet following 4:00. Most tasks are completed at the beginning of the week and (maybe as expected) Fridays are the least impactful. Finally, the highest number of tasks are completed in October, but the least are in January. While these numbers are not universal, because everyone works differently, this information can be helpful in potentially adapting our own schedules in order to achieve the highest levels of productivity.
Modify your Environment
Clutter can equal chaos, both mentally and physically. Consider purging your workspace in order to create space. Anyone who has deep cleaned a closet or reorganized a basement knows that there is an instant feeling of relief when the unnecessary clutter has been removed from the space. Once the extra physical room is there, you’ll quickly notice the mental room that has become available. With the extra mental clarity there will be more room for productivity towards your goals.
Positive Team Engagement
Whether you’re a leader or a member, engaging with the team you are a part of is necessary for your overall success. A positive workplace environment cultivates productivity, so collaborating and engaging with your team will prove to be a helpful approach to your workday. While putting your head down and getting work done is obviously important, remember to enjoy the social aspects of work too. Get to know your coworkers, we could all use a little comedic relief in our day.
Prioritize a Work-Life Balance
It can be difficult to separate ourselves from work after leaving the office. I even sometimes find myself thinking about the workday before I fall asleep. With an increasingly virtual and accessible world, it can be difficult to disconnect at 5:00 p.m. Keep in mind, balance in this case doesn’t always mean 50/50, it should mean a healthy and fulfilling balance that works for you. However, as mentioned before, happy people are productive people and a healthy balance between home life and work life is another facet of that. If you can, try silencing or disabling your work email from your phone in the evenings, schedule yourself breaks if you have a hard time taking them organically and be sure to set and communicate boundaries regarding your availability and be strict about keeping them. These are just a few ways to promote a balance in your life and are definitely easier said than done. Do your best to focus on implementing the tactics that work for you and stay consistent with them.
In conclusion,
Implementing these strategies will help you to have a positive and productive start to 2026. Reset those goals where necessary, determine personal strategies that you feel are achievable and ensure you make the time for fun and relaxation alongside your work. The end goal is to feel fulfilled and content in both your work and personal life.
This article was originally posted in January, 2025.
