Google Cloud has officially launched a new suite of agentic AI tools designed to fundamentally replace passive digital storefronts with active, autonomous concierges.
Announced by Carrie Tharp, Vice President of Strategic Industries, this shift to “agentic commerce” leverages Google’s Gemini models to unify customer service and sales into a single, intelligent platform. The move promises to end the era where customers do the heavy lifting of searching and filtering, replacing it with AI that can “independently plan, reason, and act.”
According to Tharp, this represents the “industry’s most significant transformation yet.” The new Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience doesn’t just answer questions; it actively manages the entire customer lifecycle.
Darshan Kantak, VP of Product, Applied AI, explains the goal is to “bring shopping and customer service together,” allowing agents to guide customers from product discovery to post-purchase resolution without human hand-off.
The Shift to Agentic Operations
For operations leaders, this means your digital channels are no longer just display windows. Tharp describes how they are becoming active concierges:
“AI is fundamentally changing retail, moving us into what we call the agentic commerce era, the industry’s most significant transformation yet. We’re shifting beyond simple digital interactions and passive tools to AI agents that are capable of executing complex, multi-step actions autonomously across every consumer touchpoint.”
This shift requires a new operational mindset. As Tharp notes, “For retailers, the opportunity is no longer about just being more efficient; it’s about finding the right customers and making it easy for them to buy.”
Unifying Service and Sales
A recurring headache for CX teams is the silo between support and sales. Support agents fix problems while sales engines drive revenue, and rarely do the two meet seamlessly.
Imagine an agent that doesn’t just answer a question about a return but uses that interaction to proactively suggest a replacement item based on complex reasoning. According to Kantak, these agents are designed to “manage the entire customer lifecycle, from initial product discovery to autonomous post-purchase resolution.”
This allows your human teams to focus on high-value interactions while the AI handles the complex, multi-step execution that used to bog them down.
Real-World Evidence: The ROI is Real
The most compelling part of this announcement is that major brands are already seeing results. This isn’t theoretical.
Authentic Brands Group (owners of Reebok and Nautica) integrated these tools into their workflow to accelerate content creation. Tharp highlights the quantifiable impact:
“In early testing, Reebok ad creatives enhanced by Authentic delivered up to 60% higher return on ad spend (ROAS) compared to traditional images.”
The Home Depot is using a “Magic Apron” agent to assist customers with project planning. Tharp describes this as a tool offering “precise aisle-level navigation and product knowledge,” effectively digitizing the expertise of a store associate.
Estée Lauder created an AI Scent Advisor that “maps personal preferences to Jo Malone’s complex olfactory data,” effectively digitizing the high-touch in-store consultation.
The Future of the Aisle
Google is also bridging the gap between online and offline. With partners like Honeywell, they are turning physical stores into intelligent environments. This “online-to-offline” approach ensures that the ease of discovery customers expect on an app is available when they walk into a shop.
This is the operational “superpower” Tharp promises: turning “fragmented digital and in-store engagements into a single, effortless experience.”
Conclusion
The tools to turn passive browsers into active buyers are here. The brands that adopt agentic strategies today will define the customer expectations of tomorrow.
Are you ready to hand over the keys to an autonomous agent?
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