Microsoft has developed agentic AI features that bring intelligent automation to every part of a retail business.

These capabilities can help retailers move faster, serve shoppers with greater relevance, and operate with resilience and efficiency, delivering a modern foundation for growth.

Across merchandising, marketing, store operations and fulfilment, these bring a connected layer of intelligence that transforms fragmented workflows into coordinated execution. By equipping teams with context-aware tools that can anticipate and act, Microsoft wants to accelerate the industry’s move towards a unified, intelligence-driven operating system built for the pace of modern retail.

“The retailers that thrive will be the ones that unify their business with intelligence that reaches every corner of the value chain,” said Kathleen Mitford, corporate vice president at Microsoft (www.microsoft.com). “With Microsoft’s agentic AI, retailers can automate what slows them down and amplify what sets them apart, enabling faster decisions and stronger customer relationships while building operations ready for whatever comes next.”

Copilot Checkout should help merchants reach shoppers as they complete purchases discovered directly within Copilot without being redirected to external sites. Copilot Checkout is available in the USA on Copilot.com. Those enabling this experience include PayPal, Shopify and Stripe. Shoppers will be able to purchase from retail brands such as Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie and Ashley Furniture, and discover items from Etsy sellers, with many more joining soon.

“At Etsy, our job is to make it simple for people to discover the special things our sellers create,” said Rafe Colburn, chief technology officer at Etsy (www.etsy.com). “By bringing Etsy’s unique inventory to Copilot Checkout, we’re meeting buyers at the moment intent becomes action. With one integration, we open the door for our sellers to show up across new surfaces without extra work. It’s a straightforward way to connect their creativity to high-intent buyers and to keep commerce human as shopping evolves.”

Shopify merchants will automatically be enrolled in Copilot Checkout following an opt-out window.

“Copilot Checkout can move a customer from intent to transaction in seconds, all without leaving the conversation,” said Mani Fazeli, vice president at Shopify (www.shopify.com). “It’s the merchant’s checkout powered by Shopify, seamlessly fitting into the customer’s experience. This is the modern power of agentic storefronts: personalisation and relevance, trust and accuracy, speed and convenience.”

Microsoft is introducing two offerings that bring agentic commerce to life across the digital experiences retailers own: Brand Agents (clarity.microsoft.com/brand-agents), now available for merchants on the Shopify platform, and the personalised shopping agent template in Copilot Studio (copilotstudio.microsoft.com). Both enable personalised, conversational shopping experiences, helping retailers guide customers, boost engagement and drive conversions.

Brand Agents is a turnkey offering for brands to bring their authentic voice into every digital interaction on their web site. Trained on a brand’s product catalogue, it answers detailed product questions, engages shoppers in natural, brand-aligned conversations, and is ready for Shopify customers to deploy with little setup.

The personalised shopping agent template provides a fully customisable framework for retailers wanting to tailor experiences more deeply. In addition to real-time, context-aware product discovery and recommendations across web, mobile and in-store experiences, it includes capabilities such as outfit building, giving retailers flexibility to craft unique engaging shopping journeys.

Microsoft’s agentic AI aims to give retailers the tools to anticipate change, operate more efficiently and deliver experiences that reflect their brand values. Intelligent agents help automate critical retail workflows from inventory management and product onboarding to real-time merchandising insights, freeing teams to focus on strategy and innovation while driving measurable business outcomes.

• Chinese firm Hanshow (www.hanshow.com), a specialist in electronic shelf labels and digital stores, announced a collaboration with Microsoft at last week’s NRF Big Show in New York, focused on exploring the future framework of store digital twins in response to the accelerating demands of retail digital transformation.