What Is Conversational Commerce?
Conversational commerce is selling products through chat-based interfaces, encompassing everything from WhatsApp chatbots to AI shopping agents like ChatGPT.
Conversational commerce is the practice of selling products and services through chat-based, conversational interfaces -- including messaging apps, chatbots, voice assistants, and AI shopping agents.
The term was coined by Uber's Chris Messina in 2015 to describe commerce happening inside messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and WeChat. The concept has evolved dramatically: from simple rule-based chatbots answering FAQ questions, to AI-powered assistants recommending products, to fully autonomous AI agents completing purchases on behalf of consumers.
The conversational commerce market is valued at approximately $11.3 billion in 2025 and projected to reach $20.3 billion by 2030, growing at 12.5% CAGR (Mordor Intelligence, 2025). The latest phase -- agentic commerce -- represents the most significant evolution: AI agents that can autonomously research, compare, and purchase products without human intervention.
The Evolution: Chatbots to Agentic Commerce
Conversational commerce evolved from scripted chatbots to AI copilots to fully autonomous agents that can complete purchases independently.
Phase 1: Rule-Based Chatbots (2015-2020). Simple decision trees on websites and messaging apps. "Type 1 for order status, 2 for returns." Limited utility, high frustration.
Phase 2: AI-Powered Assistants (2020-2024). NLP-capable bots that understood natural language queries. Could recommend products, answer nuanced questions, and personalize responses. Still required human intervention for purchases.
Phase 3: Agentic Commerce (2025-present). AI agents that autonomously complete the full shopping journey -- researching products, comparing options across retailers, negotiating based on loyalty status, and executing checkout. Powered by protocols like ACP and UCP, this phase transforms conversational commerce from a support channel into a primary sales channel.
The shift from Phase 2 to Phase 3 is what makes this moment critical for retailers. AI agents are not just answering questions -- they are making purchasing decisions. The question for brands is whether their products are visible and transactable when these agents shop.
Key Takeaways
Conversational commerce has evolved from simple chatbots to autonomous AI shopping agents, representing a fundamental shift in how consumers buy.
- Conversational commerce market: $11.3B in 2025, growing to $20.3B by 2030 (Mordor Intelligence)
- Evolved from rule-based chatbots (2015) to autonomous AI shopping agents (2025)
- ChatGPT Shopping processes 50 million shopping queries daily -- the largest conversational commerce platform
- For retailers, conversational commerce now requires protocol compliance (ACP, UCP), not just chatbot integration
FAQ
Is conversational commerce the same as agentic commerce?+
Which platforms support conversational commerce?+
Do I need a chatbot for conversational commerce?+
Related Terms
ChatGPT Shopping
ChatGPT Shopping is OpenAI's built-in commerce feature that lets consumers discover, compare, and buy products directly inside ChatGPT conversations.
Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP)
ACP is an open-source checkout protocol by Stripe and OpenAI that enables AI agents to complete purchases on behalf of consumers.
Instant Checkout (ChatGPT)
Instant Checkout is ChatGPT's in-conversation purchase feature that lets consumers buy products without leaving the chat, powered by ACP and Stripe.
Zero-Click Buying
Zero-click buying is the emerging concept where AI agents complete purchases autonomously without the consumer ever visiting a retailer's website or app.
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