Latest news with #digitalagents
Entrepreneur
5 days ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
AI Agents Are Rewriting the Rules of Retail — Even for the Little Guys
Entrepreneurs need to learn how to use AI-powered digital agents so they can personalize service, automate tasks and reach more customers. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Successful small businesses have always found ways to keep up with new technologies and shifting consumer habits. Now, a fresh wave of innovation is arriving: agentic commerce. Thanks to breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and machine learning, this new concept could transform how consumers and businesses connect, especially for small companies looking to grow. Why agentic commerce is the new digital assistant Agentic commerce refers to a system where smart digital agents conduct transactions for people. These agents can compare prices, suggest products, make purchases and even negotiate deals, all while learning from what users like and prefer. As virtual assistants like Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant become everyday tools, the idea of automated, intelligent buying is quickly moving from sci-fi to reality. With agentic commerce, small businesses can deliver highly personalized experiences, something that used to be the domain of large companies. This kind of customization helps build loyalty and encourages repeat visits. Take, for example, a local bakery I frequent. Last fall, the owner started using a simple AI-based ordering system. I placed my usual order for sourdough, and the system suggested a new pumpkin muffin that was popular that week. I gave it a try (it was delicious), and now, every time there's a new seasonal treat, I get a friendly recommendation. It's a small touch, but it keeps me coming back. Related: No More 'Press 1 for Service' — Here's How to Bring Phone Systems into the Age of Personalization Running more efficiently One of the biggest advantages of agentic commerce is automation. For small businesses with limited staff or resources, AI agents can handle repetitive jobs like managing inventory, processing orders and answering common customer questions. This frees up owners and employees to concentrate on growth and strategy, while also keeping costs down. A friend who runs a neighborhood hardware store shared how overwhelming inventory management can get, especially during the spring rush. After adopting an AI tool, he jokes that he spends more time on the shop floor helping customers and less time counting screws in the back room. "It's like having a second pair of hands," he told me. "I can focus on building relationships instead of checking stock levels all day." Reaching more customers Agentic commerce can also help businesses break out of their local markets. AI-powered agents can serve customers in different languages and time zones, making it possible to sell to people all over the world. This global reach used to be reserved for big companies, but now even small shops can compete on a much larger stage. Not long ago, I met a jewelry designer at a craft fair who told me her online sales had doubled in a year. Her secret? An AI-driven chatbot on her website that could answer questions and take orders in Spanish, French and German. She said, "I've shipped necklaces to places I'd never even heard of before — it's wild." Technology truly does open doors. Related: 5 Powerful Ways to Streamline Your Work Processes with AI How it works in real life Picture a neighborhood coffee shop using agentic commerce. At the start of the day, an AI agent tweaks menu prices based on what's popular locally and automatically reorders top-selling beans using Visa's virtual cards. Whether customers place orders online or at the counter, an AI assistant helps them personalize drinks, recommends a pastry to go with their coffee and processes payments securely with a Visa credential. Throughout the day, the AI tracks what's selling best and lets the owner know if it's time to run a flash sale on slower-moving items. By closing time, the team has served more customers with fewer mistakes, leaving staff free to focus on hospitality. What to watch out for Of course, adopting agentic commerce isn't without challenges. Protecting customer data is crucial, so strong cybersecurity and clear data policies are a must. There's also an upfront investment of time and money to get AI systems up and running, and staff may need training to use new tools effectively. A restaurateur I know initially worried about data privacy with her new reservation and ordering system. She made transparency a priority by putting up a sign explaining how customer information is stored and used. "People appreciate the honesty," she noticed, "and it builds trust." Small businesses considering agentic commerce should look for trusted technology partners with expertise in AI and machine learning. Collaborating with experienced providers can make the transition smoother and provide valuable support along the way. At Visa, we're dedicated to helping small businesses succeed with the latest technology. Our programs are designed to give business owners both the tools and knowledge they need to make the most of agentic commerce, from cutting-edge solutions to educational resources. Preparing for the future Agentic commerce is still evolving, but small businesses that get on board early will be in the best position to benefit. The keys to success will be focusing on personalization, efficiency and expanding your reach beyond traditional boundaries. Here are a few steps to help you start your AI journey: Take stock of your current technology Define what you want to automate or personalize Find a reliable AI partner Run a pilot project before rolling out changes more broadly Evaluate the results and adjust as needed The world of commerce is changing fast. Small businesses that embrace agentic commerce today can unlock new possibilities for growth, innovation and long-term success in the digital age.
CNN
20-05-2025
- Business
- CNN
Google outlines its big plans for the future of search
The very basic meaning of what it means to ' Google' something – typing in keywords and sifting through links, images and information snippets is nearly behind us, according to Google. The search giant laid out its vision for the future of searching the web on Tuesday, introducing a flurry of updates that aim to shift Google's ubiquitous search engine from being a box for processing keywords to a system of 'digital agents' that can crawl the web and answer questions based on a person's real-world surroundings, tastes and preferences. Google's AI push comes as publishers – particularly independent ones – have already raised concerns about how the prominence of AI-generated answers could threaten their businesses. The announcements, made during the company's annual developer conference, underscore that Google's most important business is facing more competition than ever. Chatbots like ChatGPT and AI-fueled search engines such as Perplexity present an alternative way to find information and get things done – two tasks firmly at the center of Google's core business. The newly announced tools can be seen as an effort to prove its nearly 30-year-old search engine isn't losing relevance in the AI era. 'What all this progress tells me is that we are now entering a new phase of the AI platform shift, where decades of research are now becoming reality for people, businesses and communities all over the world,' Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and its parent company Alphabet, said in a press briefing ahead of the conference. Google is broadening AI Mode, previously only available to those who signed up to test early features through its Labs program, to all US users through the Google app. It's a step beyond AI Overviews, the AI-generated answers consumers see at the top of results. The primary difference between AI Mode and a standard Google search is the way it processes queries. Instead of just looking at the whole question, AI Mode breaks queries down into subtopics and generates additional searches based on those subtopics to provide a more specific answer. Google says AI Mode will soon draw on a person's search history to further personalize answers, and users will also be able to link it to other Google apps, like Gmail. Beyond how it processes questions, AI Mode is expected to offer two key new ways of searching: one that it claims will handle tasks on a user's behalf, and another that lets them show Google their surroundings using their phone's camera. Although AI Mode is now generally available in the US, these two specific features will still require users to sign up for Labs. Google's Project Mariner technology, which the company announced as a research prototype last year, will be able to accomplish certain tasks on a person's behalf and answer questions that usually require multiple steps, the company claims. For example, one could ask a question such as 'Find two affordable tickets for this Sunday's Reds game in the lower level,' and Google will search for tickets, analyze options and pricing, fill out forms autonomously and then pull up tickets that match the user's criteria. It will initially be available for buying tickets, making restaurant reservations and booking local appointments through services such as Ticketmaster, StubHub, Resy and Vagaro, and will come to the Labs section of the Google app in the coming months. AI Mode in the Google app is also getting a new feature that lets users ask questions about the world around them. Visual search isn't new to Google; the company's Lens tool already lets users ask questions about photos they've snapped. But this mode takes that idea a step further by showing Google what a person is seeing in real time. The idea is to make it easier for Google to answer questions about complex tasks that are difficult to describe – such as whether the specific bolt in the toolbox is the right size for the bike frame being fixed – just by pointing a phone at it and asking. Google previously brought this visual search functionality to its Gemini assistant on Android, which it's now expanding to the iPhone. But Tuesday's announcement shows Google sees it as being key to the future of its search engine as well. Some of the new search capabilities overlap with those available in Google's Gemini assistant, potentially causing confusion among consumers. Robby Stein, vice president of product for Google search, told CNN that search is tailored for learning, while Gemini is meant to be a helper for tasks like generating code and writing business plans in addition to answering questions. Google's search engine has been the primary vessel for finding information online for nearly three decades. But that position is being challenged more than ever due to the proliferation of AI services from companies like OpenAI and Perplexity, as well as fellow tech stalwarts like Apple, Amazon and Microsoft – all of which have upgraded or are in the process of upgrading their virtual assistants with advanced AI capabilities. OpenAI, Google's chief rival in the AI assistant space, has launched its own search engine. Google's increased competition became evident earlier this month when Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of services, revealed in courtroom testimony that Google searches in its Safari browser in April had decreased for the first time since 2002, Bloomberg reported. Google has pushed back on that statement, saying it's seen 'overall query growth in search' including those coming from Apple devices. Market research firm Gartner estimated last year that search engine volume would drop 25% by 2026 as consumers gravitate toward AI tools. But Pichai, on a call with reporters, said the updates reflect the new ways people are using his company's search engine. 'When I look ahead, you've got glimpses of a proactive world, an agentic world,' he said. 'All of this will keep getting better.'
CNN
20-05-2025
- Business
- CNN
Google outlines its big plans for the future of search
The very basic meaning of what it means to ' Google' something – typing in keywords and sifting through links, images and information snippets is nearly behind us, according to Google. The search giant laid out its vision for the future of searching the web on Tuesday, introducing a flurry of updates that aim to shift Google's ubiquitous search engine from being a box for processing keywords to a system of 'digital agents' that can crawl the web and answer questions based on a person's real-world surroundings, tastes and preferences. Google's AI push comes as publishers – particularly independent ones – have already raised concerns about how the prominence of AI-generated answers could threaten their businesses. The announcements, made during the company's annual developer conference, underscore that Google's most important business is facing more competition than ever. Chatbots like ChatGPT and AI-fueled search engines such as Perplexity present an alternative way to find information and get things done – two tasks firmly at the center of Google's core business. The newly announced tools can be seen as an effort to prove its nearly 30-year-old search engine isn't losing relevance in the AI era. 'What all this progress tells me is that we are now entering a new phase of the AI platform shift, where decades of research are now becoming reality for people, businesses and communities all over the world,' Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and its parent company Alphabet, said in a press briefing ahead of the conference. Google is broadening AI Mode, previously only available to those who signed up to test early features through its Labs program, to all US users through the Google app. It's a step beyond AI Overviews, the AI-generated answers consumers see at the top of results. The primary difference between AI Mode and a standard Google search is the way it processes queries. Instead of just looking at the whole question, AI Mode breaks queries down into subtopics and generates additional searches based on those subtopics to provide a more specific answer. Google says AI Mode will soon draw on a person's search history to further personalize answers, and users will also be able to link it to other Google apps, like Gmail. Beyond how it processes questions, AI Mode is expected to offer two key new ways of searching: one that it claims will handle tasks on a user's behalf, and another that lets them show Google their surroundings using their phone's camera. Although AI Mode is now generally available in the US, these two specific features will still require users to sign up for Labs. Google's Project Mariner technology, which the company announced as a research prototype last year, will be able to accomplish certain tasks on a person's behalf and answer questions that usually require multiple steps, the company claims. For example, one could ask a question such as 'Find two affordable tickets for this Sunday's Reds game in the lower level,' and Google will search for tickets, analyze options and pricing, fill out forms autonomously and then pull up tickets that match the user's criteria. It will initially be available for buying tickets, making restaurant reservations and booking local appointments through services such as Ticketmaster, StubHub, Resy and Vagaro, and will come to the Labs section of the Google app in the coming months. AI Mode in the Google app is also getting a new feature that lets users ask questions about the world around them. Visual search isn't new to Google; the company's Lens tool already lets users ask questions about photos they've snapped. But this mode takes that idea a step further by showing Google what a person is seeing in real time. The idea is to make it easier for Google to answer questions about complex tasks that are difficult to describe – such as whether the specific bolt in the toolbox is the right size for the bike frame being fixed – just by pointing a phone at it and asking. Google previously brought this visual search functionality to its Gemini assistant on Android, which it's now expanding to the iPhone. But Tuesday's announcement shows Google sees it as being key to the future of its search engine as well. Some of the new search capabilities overlap with those available in Google's Gemini assistant, potentially causing confusion among consumers. Robby Stein, vice president of product for Google search, told CNN that search is tailored for learning, while Gemini is meant to be a helper for tasks like generating code and writing business plans in addition to answering questions. Google's search engine has been the primary vessel for finding information online for nearly three decades. But that position is being challenged more than ever due to the proliferation of AI services from companies like OpenAI and Perplexity, as well as fellow tech stalwarts like Apple, Amazon and Microsoft – all of which have upgraded or are in the process of upgrading their virtual assistants with advanced AI capabilities. OpenAI, Google's chief rival in the AI assistant space, has launched its own search engine. Google's increased competition became evident earlier this month when Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of services, revealed in courtroom testimony that Google searches in its Safari browser in April had decreased for the first time since 2002, Bloomberg reported. Google has pushed back on that statement, saying it's seen 'overall query growth in search' including those coming from Apple devices. Market research firm Gartner estimated last year that search engine volume would drop 25% by 2026 as consumers gravitate toward AI tools. But Pichai, on a call with reporters, said the updates reflect the new ways people are using his company's search engine. 'When I look ahead, you've got glimpses of a proactive world, an agentic world,' he said. 'All of this will keep getting better.'
