TLDR: AI shopping agents will narrow choices to a shortlist, and in price driven categories that squeezes margin. To get ahead, Shopify merchants need product content rich enough to rank for “best,” not just “cheapest,” plus a brand and service strong enough to win the final human pick.
AI will build the shortlist, your brand has to win the pick
Agentic commerce could turn your store into a line on a price comparison and the brands that survive this will do two jobs. Get onto the AI’s shortlist, and then give shoppers a reason to choose them from it.
That’s the lesson from our Leaders on Shopify conversation with Ben Slaven from Function18, a men’s golfwear retailer that has been selling online for 18 years and now runs 6,000+ SKUs on Shopify.
Why agentic commerce is a race to the bottom on price
Ben sees AI shopping agents as a real threat to margin and his reasoning is that golf retail is “so price driven,” and most shoppers already favour a functional, Amazon style experience over a curated one.
“It can only erode margin because it’s basically a race to the bottom on price, isn’t it?”
He also expects agents to do the browsing for users, not necessarily to buy outright, but to narrow the field.
“What you would let it do is give you five options and you just pick one.”
The main driver is time. Ben says that most people’s lives are stressful and short on hours, and an agent makes things happen without the effort. If an agent only sorts by price, every retailer selling the same Nike polo looks identical.
Why shoppers still pay two to three times more for a logo
Here’s the other side of the argument, Ben is clear that apparel isn’t bought on quality alone.
“We pay a lot for a brand because we can show it on our left chest and our brand mark and the quality is often not any different.”
His benchmark is Rapha. In cycling, he says, you either chose Rapha or ASOS. The Rapha product is good, but is it three times as good because it costs two or three times more? Shoppers pay anyway, because they are buying into a community and what the brand says about them.
That’s the gap price led agents can’t close. Nobody asks an AI for the cheapest way to feel like part of the club.
Job one: Get onto the AI shortlist
An agent can’t pick you if it can’t read you. Our CEO John Readman made the key point in that shoppers won’t always ask for the cheapest option, they’ll ask for the the best quality, or what lasts longest. If you have the right quality content, you can show up for those queries too.
That means giving agents more to work with than a price:
- Product data that answers “best” questions. Materials, fit, durability and use case, written plainly on every product page.
- Proof beyond the spec sheet. Reviews and real world detail that back up a quality claim.
- Unique content. Ben says that brand supplied assets from Adidas and others help populate a site, but organic channels want unique content, and if its content that everyone else also has gives an agent no reason to prefer you.
Function18 already uses AI to create product imagery and cut photoshoot costs, the same tools can close content gaps across a 6,000-SKU catalog.
Job two: Get picked from the shortlist
Once an agent hands a shopper five options, the choice is human again. That’s where brand does its work.
Ben’s view of Rapha is the model, a clear story and messaging that never wavers. For a multi brand retailer like Function18, the brand isn’t just the logo, it’s the experience around it. Ben is confident they offer better customer service than the brands’ own sites, and that shopping with them feels different.
He also warns against the move that undermines brand fastest, heavy discounting. He objects to brand sites pushing first order codes, pointing out that you wouldn’t get that treatment on the high street, so brands shouldn’t behave differently online.
The lesson for Shopify brands is that if your only lever is price, an agent will pull it for you. Build the reasons to choose you now, before the shortlist exists.
Why generic agencies struggle in niche markets
Brand only works if it speaks the customer’s language. Ben’s verdict on the agency model is blunt, “golf is quite niche in that you need to communicate with a golfer, you need to be able to speak their language and most marketing agencies can’t do that.”
John argues that ad platforms and AI now handle much of the execution, so the value left to buy is expertise, strategy and best practice, not the doing. Function18 reflects on this this, it has cut back development spend and runs its site in-house with page builders like Instant and Shogun, so its designer can publish without a developer.
If your marketing doesn’t sound like it comes from inside the community, Ben says, it won’t land and you won’t get the engagement on Meta or in your ads.
Agentic commerce FAQ
What is agentic commerce? AI agents searching, comparing and sometimes buying products on a shopper’s behalf. In practice today, that often means an agent narrowing the field to a few options for the shopper to choose from.
Will agentic commerce hurt ecommerce margins? In price driven categories, it can. Ben from Function18 expects it to erode margin wherever shoppers default to the cheapest option. Brands with strong reasons to choose them beyond price are better protected.
How can a Shopify brand prepare for AI shopping agents? Make product data and content detailed enough to rank for “best” and “best quality” queries, not just “cheapest.” Then invest in the brand, service and community that win the final human choice.
How do you know which content actually drives profit? Connect creative performance to product sales and margin, not just clicks.
Listen to the full episode
Ben and John also cover Function18’s move from Magento to Shopify, the apps they rely on (Klevu, Klaviyo, Instant, Shogun), and why golf’s customer base is getting younger. Find the full conversation on Leaders on Shopify.
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