ESW has launched a new agentic commerce solution designed to help international brands make their products discoverable, purchasable and operationally supported inside artificial intelligence platforms.
The cross-border e-commerce provider announced that Microsoft Copilot will be the first integration for ESW Agentic Commerce, allowing participating brands to connect AI-powered product discovery directly with secure checkout and payment capabilities.
The launch represents another important step in the development of agentic commerce: a model in which AI assistants do more than recommend products. They can increasingly compare options, guide purchasing decisions and complete transactions on behalf of shoppers.
For international retailers, however, connecting an AI recommendation to a completed order is considerably more complicated than adding a buy button to a chatbot. Payments, localisation, fraud prevention, import duties, compliance, fulfilment and returns must still operate correctly behind the interface.
ESW is positioning its new Agentic Commerce infrastructure as the layer that manages that complexity.
ESW Agentic Commerce is a new infrastructure solution intended to connect retailers’ existing e-commerce operations with AI-powered shopping environments.
The system allows brands to integrate and optimise their product catalogues for discovery by AI platforms. Once a shopper finds a suitable product, the transaction can be completed securely within the AI experience rather than requiring the customer to move to a separate retailer website.
According to ESW, the solution works alongside a retailer’s existing e-commerce infrastructure. Brands therefore do not need to replace their current commerce platform to participate in AI-assisted shopping channels.
The technology is supported by the ESW Agentic Hub, which acts as an infrastructure layer connecting AI agents with the company’s international commerce capabilities.
Through this layer, AI platforms can potentially access the product, checkout and operational services required to move a shopper from initial discovery to a completed cross-border order.
ESW says Microsoft Copilot will be the first integration, with support for additional agents and platforms expected in the coming months. The service is immediately available to brands and customers in the United States, while broader availability is planned.
Microsoft has been developing Copilot into a transactional shopping environment rather than limiting it to search, recommendations and product comparisons.
Copilot Checkout allows shoppers to discover, evaluate and purchase products without leaving the conversational interface. Microsoft says the merchant remains the merchant of record and retains ownership of the transaction, customer data and commercial relationship.
The ESW integration extends this concept towards international commerce.
A customer could theoretically ask Copilot for a product recommendation, compare several options, select an item and complete the purchase inside the same conversation. ESW would then provide the underlying international commerce infrastructure required to process and support the transaction.
That infrastructure can include:
The customer may experience the journey as a simple conversation, but the transaction still depends on a complex network of commercial and logistical systems.
This operational layer is particularly important when the shopper, merchant, payment provider and delivery destination are located in different countries.
Generative AI has already changed how some consumers research products. Shoppers can ask an AI assistant to compare specifications, interpret reviews, recommend suitable products or narrow a large catalogue according to highly specific requirements.
Until recently, however, most AI-assisted shopping journeys ended with a link.
The AI could recommend a product, but the shopper would usually have to leave the conversation, visit the merchant’s website, find the correct product again and proceed through a conventional checkout.
Each additional step created an opportunity for the customer to abandon the purchase.
Agentic commerce attempts to remove that separation between discovery and transaction. Instead of acting primarily as a search interface, the AI assistant becomes an active participant throughout the purchasing journey.
Microsoft reported that shopping journeys involving Copilot produced 53% more purchases within 30 minutes of an interaction than journeys without Copilot. When clear shopping intent was present, journeys involving Copilot were reportedly 194% more likely to result in a purchase.
These figures were published by Microsoft and should be interpreted as early platform data rather than independent measurements of the wider e-commerce market. Nevertheless, they suggest that reducing the distance between product recommendation and checkout could have a measurable effect on conversion.
Domestic transactions are already complicated. International orders add multiple layers of friction and risk.
A product recommended by an AI assistant may be available in one country but restricted in another. The displayed price may need to include local taxes, import duties or customs charges. Payment preferences, consumer regulations, delivery options and return procedures may also differ by market.
An AI assistant cannot reliably complete an international order simply by identifying the right product. It must also connect with systems capable of answering operational questions in real time.
These may include:
ESW already provides international commerce services covering payments, compliance, localisation, shipping and returns across more than 200 markets. The company says it works with more than 150 global brands and processes more than eight million cross-border orders annually.
Agentic Commerce applies those capabilities to a new customer interface.
Rather than building a separate international transaction system for every AI platform, ESW’s proposed model gives brands a central infrastructure layer that can be extended across multiple agents.
The emergence of AI-powered shopping will also increase the importance of product data.
Traditional e-commerce search is often built around keywords, categories, filters and paid placements. AI discovery is more conversational and contextual.
A shopper may not search for a particular product name. Instead, the shopper might ask:
“Find me a waterproof jacket suitable for a week in Iceland that fits in hand luggage and costs less than €200.”
To respond accurately, the AI must understand far more than a product title and category. It may need structured information about materials, sizing, climate suitability, weight, delivery availability, price, inventory and return conditions.
Brands whose product information is incomplete, inconsistent or inaccessible to AI systems may become less visible even when their products would otherwise meet the customer’s requirements.
This creates a new optimisation discipline for merchants. In addition to search engine optimisation, marketplace optimisation and feed management, brands will increasingly need to consider how products are interpreted and selected by AI agents.
Important areas will include:
In agentic commerce, product data is not merely descriptive content. It becomes part of the decision-making infrastructure.
One of the most significant aspects of the ESW proposition is that retailers are not expected to replace their existing e-commerce platforms.
ESW Agentic Commerce is designed to operate alongside the merchant’s current technology stack. The retailer can therefore extend its catalogue and transaction capabilities into AI environments while continuing to use its existing platform for core commerce operations.
This reduces one of the most obvious barriers to agentic commerce adoption.
Large international retailers often operate highly customised systems involving commerce platforms, enterprise resource planning software, product information management, order management, warehouse systems and multiple payment providers.
Replacing that infrastructure solely to participate in a new AI sales channel would be costly and risky.
An integration layer allows retailers to test agentic commerce without treating it as a complete platform migration.
Nevertheless, brands will still need to determine how orders generated through AI interfaces are attributed, managed and measured. Questions around customer identity, consent, marketing permissions, returns and post-purchase communication will become increasingly important as the channel develops.
Agentic commerce could reduce purchasing friction, but it may also weaken the direct relationship between shoppers and retailers.
When a customer shops through an AI assistant, the assistant may control much of the experience:
This creates a strategic risk for brands. The AI platform could become the primary interface, while the retailer becomes an invisible fulfilment provider.
Microsoft has attempted to address this concern by emphasising that merchants participating in Copilot Checkout remain the merchant of record and retain control of their transaction data and customer relationship.
However, formal ownership of the transaction does not necessarily guarantee control over the customer experience.
Retailers will need to ensure that AI commerce integrations preserve brand identity, communicate accurate product information and create opportunities for continued customer engagement after the purchase.
Otherwise, brands may become increasingly dependent on AI platforms in much the same way that many merchants became dependent on search engines, marketplaces and social networks.
The ability of an AI system to complete a purchase introduces legal and regulatory questions that conventional product recommendation tools do not face.
Retailers must be able to demonstrate that customers were shown accurate prices, material product information, delivery conditions and return rights before the transaction was completed.
For cross-border orders, the process may also involve:
There is also the question of responsibility when an AI assistant recommends an unsuitable product, presents incorrect information or completes a purchase based on an ambiguous instruction.
The commercial agreement between the retailer, commerce provider and AI platform will need to define how responsibility is distributed.
These issues will become more significant as AI agents gain greater autonomy. Recommending a product is different from selecting quantities, accepting terms, choosing delivery services or authorising payment.
Agentic commerce infrastructure must therefore provide both convenience and traceability.
ESW’s launch should be understood as part of a broader shift in e-commerce distribution.
Retailers have previously adapted their businesses for successive generations of digital channels:
AI assistants may now become another major entry point.
ESW cites McKinsey research estimating that agentic commerce could represent a global opportunity of between $3 trillion and $5 trillion by 2030. The company also references a Gartner prediction that traditional search engine volume could decline by 25% as consumers increasingly use AI chatbots and virtual agents.
These projections should not be treated as guarantees that AI agents will replace conventional e-commerce journeys. Consumer trust, technical reliability, product coverage and regulatory oversight will all influence adoption.
However, the direction of investment is increasingly clear.
Microsoft, Google, OpenAI, payment companies, commerce platforms and major retailers are all developing systems that allow AI assistants to participate more directly in shopping and transactions.
The strategic question for retailers is therefore shifting from whether AI will influence product discovery to how much of the commercial journey AI platforms will ultimately control.
Most brands do not need to rebuild their entire commerce strategy around autonomous AI agents immediately. However, waiting until the channel is mature could leave retailers with significant product-data and infrastructure work to complete.
Retailers preparing for agentic commerce should begin with several practical steps.
Product catalogues should contain detailed, consistent and structured information that AI systems can interpret accurately.
Missing attributes, inconsistent naming and vague descriptions could reduce both visibility and recommendation quality.
AI shopping systems require current information about prices, promotions, inventory, delivery options and geographical availability.
Static or frequently outdated feeds will not be sufficient for transactional experiences.
Retailers should assess whether their existing systems can calculate local prices, duties, taxes and delivery conditions in real time.
Agentic discovery will not generate sustainable revenue if customers encounter inaccurate landed costs or failed international orders.
Brands should define which actions an AI platform can perform, what information it can access and when customer confirmation is required.
Higher-risk actions should include appropriate human approval or explicit shopper consent.
Retailers should understand what customer information they receive, how post-purchase communication works and whether they can continue serving the customer outside the AI platform.
Agent-driven traffic and transactions should be distinguishable from conventional search, marketplace and direct website sales.
Without clear attribution, retailers will struggle to evaluate conversion, acquisition costs, repeat purchases and platform dependency.
ESW Agentic Commerce provides a clearer view of how AI-assisted shopping could become operational at an international scale.
The announcement moves the conversation beyond experimental chatbots and product recommendations. It focuses on the less visible infrastructure required to turn an AI interaction into a compliant, fulfilled and serviceable transaction.
Microsoft Copilot gives ESW an established AI interface through which to launch the solution. ESW contributes the international checkout, payment and operational capabilities required behind that interface.
The initial availability is currently limited to the United States, and broader adoption will depend on how quickly additional markets, retailers and AI platforms are integrated. Questions also remain regarding customer ownership, compliance, attribution and the influence AI assistants will have over product selection.
Even so, the direction is important.
E-commerce is entering a stage in which the storefront may no longer be a website, app or marketplace page. It may be a conversation.
For international brands, success in that environment will depend not only on whether an AI assistant can find their products, but whether the entire cross-border transaction can operate correctly after the recommendation is made.
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