A merchant’s guide to managing the emerging agentic AI commercialisation

From OpenAI’s move to charge for agent-driven commerce to the rise of specialised AI agents, Chris Jones, Managing Director at PSE Consulting, explains where agentic commerce is heading and what merchants should do next.

We discussed in a previous interview how OpenAI started to charge for conversions via Shopify. At the same time, competitors like Google and Microsoft are currently waiving fees for similar services. What does this divergence in approach tell us about different strategies in the agentic AI space, and how should merchants evaluate their options?

What this really highlights is that agents have a monetisation problem, and different players are responding to it in different ways. The underlying issue is that the cost base for agents is variable and driven by LLM usage, while many existing revenue models are still fixed, typically subscriptions. That mismatch does not scale cleanly as agents are expected to deliver more value across more contexts.

Charging for completed commercial outcomes is one of the few pricing models that aligns cost, value, and usage. Google and Microsoft, on the other hand, are still in a phase where waiving fees makes strategic sense. They are defending ecosystems, building distribution, and gathering behavioural data – and they have other revenue streams that can absorb those costs for now.

For merchants, this is not so much about choosing the cheapest option today and more about understanding where pricing models are likely to settle. As the saying goes, ‘if the service is free, you are the product’, so merchants need to watch out how they share their data with some of these platforms. The important thing is to assess which agents are delivering genuine demand, which are experimental, and which are simply subsidised entry points that may change behaviour once pricing is introduced.

The conversation around agentic commerce focuses mainly on what ChatGPT and other major platforms are doing. But there are hundreds of smaller, specialised agents supporting vertical use cases that rarely get attention. What's happening in that space, and should merchants pay more attention to niche agents versus big players?

The focus on the largest platforms is understandable, but it risks missing where a lot of practical innovation is actually happening. Many smaller agents are being built to serve very specific vertical or functional use cases, and that changes both their value proposition and their commercial model. 

These agents are integrated deeply into various processes across different industries. For example, Mealia is embedding AI into families’ weekly meal planning, Faircado helps consumers look across multiple second-hand clothing marketplaces, and Layla provides end to end journey planning not just for flights and car hire, but local taxis and restaurants. Because of that, they are less reliant on broad consumer monetisation and more likely to be priced through commercial agreements with a smaller set of merchants in specific verticals.

For merchants, the choice is not either big platforms or niche agents. It is about understanding whether their current or future customers are interested in dealing with specialists versus more generic suppliers. Large platforms bring reach and volume, while niche agents can deliver depth and efficiency. Over time, most merchants could end up working with a mix of both, rather than betting entirely on a single agent ecosystem.

We’re thinking already about a future when agent payment standards are widely adopted, but that might still require time. What do you expect will happen in the next six months, before standards like Google's UCP are fully propagated, and how can businesses manage today’s risks and opportunities?

The next six to twelve months are likely to be messy, and that’s normal for any emerging commercial model. Before standards are fully adopted, we will see a period of experimentation, inconsistent implementations, and platform-specific rules. Agents are not going to wait for governance frameworks to catch up and neither are merchants who see near-term opportunities.

In practical terms, that means fragmented experiences, varying pricing models, and a lack of uniform controls. Some agents will sit inside the payment, others will monetise around it through affiliate economics or sponsored placement, and some will not monetise at all yet.

Merchants should treat this period as a learning phase, an opportunity to test where agent-driven journeys genuinely deliver incremental demand or higher conversion, while keeping commercial exposure controlled. Flexibility will matter more than optimisation in the short term.

European merchants typically pay roughly half the payment processing fees of their US counterparts. As agentic commerce expands globally, how do you expect pricing models to evolve across different markets?

Regional economics will still matter, but agentic commerce pricing is likely to resemble affiliate or advertising-style models more than traditional regulated payment processing. The focus is on sourcing new revenue for merchants rather than processing payments themselves, which means the model is primarily outcome-based – for example, tied to new customer acquisition or incremental sales, rather than flat transaction fees.

Because of this, pricing could be more consistent globally than conventional payment costs, even if local market conditions differ. That said, in regions where payment costs are already high or customer acquisition is expensive, merchants may be more comfortable with revenue-share or outcome-based arrangements. In lower-cost markets, agents will need to demonstrate tangible uplift in sales or new customers to justify a premium.

Over time, I expect pricing to converge around the value delivered, rather than cost benchmarks, with the emphasis on generating measurable incremental revenue for merchants, rather than simply optimising transaction fees.

How should merchants weigh cost against strategic positioning in this agentic commerce landscape?

The biggest mistake would be to evaluate agentic commerce purely through the lens of short-term margin impact. Equally important is maintaining an ongoing connection with customers and visibility into the data they generate, as these are long-term strategic differentiators – once lost, they are very difficult to regain. It’s less about controlling the user experience and more about understanding who is on the other side and what they are seeking. This can include data on what the customer chose and why, but also why certain products were not chosen. Historically merchants have not had much insight into which credible options were considered by consumers but then discarded – this is a whole new set of data to get their teeth into. 

From a longer-term perspective, the strategic question is about positioning. As shopping moves into AI interfaces and funnels compress, merchants that understand how to work with agents, price outcomes, and manage data dependencies will be better placed than those that simply react once models are fully established.

This is ultimately a shift from paying for access or time to paying for outcomes. Merchants who get comfortable with that mindset early will be in a stronger position as agentic commerce matures.

About the author

Chris Jones manages PSE Consulting’s business and is well known in the UK and EU for his regular insights into payments innovation. He has spent the last 20+ years leading assignments for major clients during his time at PSE and Accenture. His specialisations include customer proposition development, market entry strategies, and enterprise value creation. Chris is a highly effective communicator, with very strong analytical skills and able to deliver recommendations to C-level clients and company Boards. Chris regularly supports major enterprises, corporates, and global digital merchants’ payments, bringing new market perspectives and identifying fresh opportunities for innovation and expansion. He has also delivered payment assignments for fintechs, banks, and processors on topics such as: regulatory impacts, new acceptance methods, open banking, BNPL, gateway/acquirer convergence, and opportunities for M&A and inorganic growth.

About PSE Consulting

PSE Consulting is a leading global provider of payment advisory services to players across the payments landscape. PSE’s expertise has enabled it to deliver actionable market insights and operational optimisation to senior payments leaders for over 30 years. To learn more, visit: https://pseconsulting.com/