Millions of Americans in the US are switching their holiday shopping game from laptops to AI agents, as tech companies are on a race to make online shopping a seamless experience. Perplexity, a prominent AI startup, recently unveiled its AI shopping agent designed to handle your shopping needs from navigating retail websites to checking out products effortlessly.

While Perplexity is leading the pack, other big players like OpenAI and Google are also diving into the AI shopping agent arena. Reports suggest that these tech giants are working on their own versions of AI agents capable of not only making purchases but also booking flights and hotels. Additionally, Amazon might upgrade its AI chatbot, Rufus, to assist with the checkout process.

To bypass retailers’ barriers aimed at blocking unwanted bots, tech companies are utilizing a mixture of cutting-edge and traditional methods. Rabbit introduced its LAM Playground, which allows an AI agent to browse websites on your behalf using a data center’s computer. Similarly, Anthropic’s computer-based agent offers a similar function but is hosted on a personal computer.

In partnership with Stripe, Perplexity is leveraging older payment features repurposed for AI agents. Stripe supplies single-use debit cards to Perplexity’s AI agent for online transactions, ensuring that the agent can make purchases without needing access to your entire bank account.

Privacy concerns arise with Google’s AI agent requiring access to your credit card information. However, several companies like Google, Amazon, Apple, and Shopify already possess your billing info, making the transition smoother for consumers during online shopping.

The rise of AI shopping agents has the potential to revolutionize online shopping, shaking up the retail industry as we know it. Stay tuned as Perplexity, OpenAI, and Google develop more advanced versions of AI shopping agents, paving the way for a new era in online retail.