AI agents are here to help with your online shopping (where they're allowed)

With Black Friday and the holiday season upon us, some shoppers may be feeling a little overwhelmed. But what if there were an option to outsource it a little?

Meta, OpenAI, and other artificial intelligence companies are all rolling out their own agentic shoppers: AI helpers that can go out with instructions and do the online shopping on a consumer’s behalf.

However, buying things with the help of AI presents a complicated reality for both shoppers and e-tail sites.

Mia Sato, a features writer at The Verge, wrote about the tension between AI tools and retailers. She joined “Marketplace” host, Kristin Schwab, to talk about the successes and pitfalls of current AI agents in the world of online shopping.

To hear their conversation, use the player above.