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Brands Face Disruption as AI Agents Shop for Users

• Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
• Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

AI shopping agents are transforming e-commerce by cutting search clicks, and forcing brands to change their strategies.

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

• Almost 60% of European Google searches end without a click.
• Gartner predicts traditional search volume could fall 25% by next year.
• Critics warn AI shopping may reduce privacy, freedom, and consumer choice.

The way people shop online may soon change as AI agents will handle various e-commerce tasks. OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and Perplexity have all launched AI-powered features that can search for products, recommend them, and even complete purchases on behalf of users.

The Financial Times (FT) elaborates how this shift will be forcing brands to rethink how their products are searched and sold. “AI [agents and chatbots] steal or hijack that consumer from the brand,” warned James Cadwallader, co-founder of start-up Profound, as reported by the FT. “Eventually, the consumer will only interact with the ‘answer engine’, and agents will become the primary visitors for websites and the internet.”

In this new era, people will shop through chatbots instead of visiting retailers’ websites. FT reports that almost 60 per cent of European Google searches already end without a click as people get answers from AI overviews . FT notes that analysts at Gartner predict traditional search volume could drop 25 per cent by next year.

Moreover, Harvard Business Review recently reported that AI agents are increasingly shaping consumer choices, from suggesting alternatives to compiling reviews and recommending stores.

Interestingly, the OpenAI o3-mini model outperformed human writers in persuasion by 82% , showing AI systems can generate more effective arguments for sales.

This new AI era may completely shift traditional brand-consumer dynamics, emphasizing value and service over customer retention.

Small businesses achieve market exposure through their competitive pricing and high-quality products, yet mid-tier brands need to implement “AI Agent Optimization,” which functions similarly to search engine optimization.

FT says that in order to adapt, marketers are testing new techniques, such as longer keyword-filled URLs, faster websites, and clearer product descriptions. “Shopping has to be a deeply personalised experience that resonates with users,” said Lilian Rincon, vice-president of product for Google Shopping, as reported by the FT. Rincon then argued that the new e-commerce AI tools can help people save “time and effort” by reducing the time of browsing through dozens of tabs.

In this scenario, start-ups like Refine and Algolia are building services to track how brands appear inside AI chatbots. Additionally, FT reports that research indicates that bots respond better to text-based advertising than images, so simple written descriptions could prove more effective than eye-catching pictures.

But the change also raises concerns. FT reports that John Bruce, co-founder of Inrupt, warned that AI shopping could limit consumer freedom: “[Consumers] trade utility for privacy, freedom of operation and choice . . . Surrender a pair of shoes today and who knows what you are going to give up tomorrow?”

Image by DC Studio, from Freepik

FBI Declares Salt Typhoon Hack A National Defense Crisis

• Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
• Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

The Salt Typhoon hacking operation has become a “national defense crisis,” according to the FBI and its intelligence partners, who classify it as one of the biggest espionage operations in history.

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

• Hackers infiltrated telecom networks in at least 80 countries.
• Millions of Americans’ data stolen, including presidential officials.
• U.S. and 12 allies issued urgent joint cybersecurity advisory.

According to officials, Chinese state-backed hackers have conducted attacks on telecommunications networks across 80 nations, resulting in data theft, communication surveillance, and attacks on military infrastructure.

“This is not just a cyber intrusion. This is the weaponization of our communications infrastructure,” a senior intelligence official said, as reported by Forbes .

Michael Machtinger, deputy assistant director for the FBI’s cyber division, added: “There’s a good chance this espionage campaign has stolen information from nearly every American,” reports The Register .

Investigators say that Salt Typhoon , active since at least 2019, infiltrated networks through unsecured vulnerabilities in Cisco, Palo Alto, and Ivanti equipment.

The hackers operated for multiple years by creating hidden accounts, enabling secret backdoors, and mirroring internet traffic. This allowed them to carry out their data theft operations. The Register says that victims included more than 200 American organizations, nine major telecom providers, and reportedly over 100 current and former U.S. presidential officials.

“This is one of the most consequential cyber espionage breaches that we’ve ever seen in the United States,” Machtinger warned The Register. He described Beijing’s use of proxy companies to support the spying as “really reckless and unbounded, in a way that is significantly outside of the norms of what we see in the espionage space.”

A joint advisory released on August 27 by the FBI, NSA, CISA, the Department of Defense, and 12 allied nations provided technical guidance to help defenders detect and remove intruders. The officials advised organizations to isolate management networks, enforce stronger authentication, and eliminate weak credentials.

For individuals, experts recommend enabling multi-factor authentication, adding PIN protections to mobile accounts, and monitoring for suspicious activity.

Authorities say the scale of the Salt Typhoon makes clear that cyber defense is now inseparable from national defense. As one European intelligence official put it, according to Forbes: “This was not just an attack on the United States. This was an attack on global trust in our communications systems.”