In this edition, covering 15 to 21 October:
- Walmart will launch Agent Profiles within a month, letting customers register AI assistants and set purchase approvals or spending limits.
- Google launched Universal Cart in the US across Google Search and the Gemini app, for saving products from multiple retailers and checking out.
- Cloudflare enabled WebMCP across nearly 100,000 Commerce.com storefronts, so AI agents can use structured shopping tools in a shopper's browser.
AI agents and checkout
Walmart will launch Agent Profiles within a month. Customers will be able to register AI assistants, set purchase approvals or spending limits and keep agent purchases separate from their own. Amazon, by contrast, blocks third party shopping agents. Anthropic also previewed Claude Duet, an agent that can make purchases with user approval. Walmart
Google launched Universal Cart in the US across Google Search and the Gemini app on 15 October. Shoppers can save products from multiple retailers, track price and inventory changes, find eligible savings and check out through Google Pay or merchant websites. Universal Cart
Cloudflare enabled its beta WebMCP edge implementation across nearly 100,000 Commerce.com storefronts. AI agents can use structured shopping tools in a shopper's browser, and merchants can opt out individually and keep control of checkout. Cloudflare
Search and product discovery
Australian retailer Coles Group selected Coveo to power AI search and product discovery on coles.com.au, across its online grocery range. Coles
Toronto and London based Azoma raised $11.2 million in Series A funding led by Puma Growth Partners. Azoma helps consumer brands track and improve how their products appear in AI search engines and shopping assistants, and will use the money for product development, hiring and expansion. Azoma
NVIDIA described how European retailers and technology companies use its accelerated open models, AI software and robotics tools for commerce, product discovery, catalog management, virtual try on and warehouse simulation. In NVIDIA's examples, Shopify reduced inference costs by 90%, Zooplus reached 86% search accuracy, L'Oréal uses AI for ingredient research and Otto Group simulates warehouse operations in Germany. NVIDIA
Stores and loyalty
CDE Solutions partnered with Bodega AI to offer independent retailers CHEXIT AI Powered by Bodega AI POS. The platform combines payment processing, including EBT SNAP, with inventory management, multilingual support, mobile monitoring and AI recommendations based on sales, inventory and store performance data. CHEXIT AI
TrueLoyal launched Advanced Analytics in the United States, an add on for its Rewards platform. It uses AI to predict member churn and next purchases and compares loyalty program performance with industry benchmarks. The predictions appear in member profiles and can be used to build campaign audiences. TrueLoyal
Norwegian AI startup Jenz raised €540,000 in pre seed funding from Antler and Ada Ventures, plus a NOK 1 million grant from Innovation Norway. Its platform combines retail data and automates operational tasks. Jenz plans to launch in the UK within nine months. Jenz
Also
UK oral care brand Dr Dent is extending its partnership with UK AI company Vidsight to its UK TikTok Shop affiliate programme after a US pilot. Vidsight provides personalised creator briefs, trend alerts and automated affiliate support. Dr Dent
A report by Bain, Google and Temasek finds that 243 million people, or 58% of the working population across Southeast Asia's six largest markets, use generative AI. Consumers drive about 60% of AI usage, and paid adoption is 1% to 2% of the population. The report expects the region's digital economy to grow 17% and move toward $1 trillion in gross merchandise value. Southeast Asia report
