We are entering an era where AI agents do not just assist customers, they effectively become the customer. Today, this begins in a very tangible way: transactions taking place directly within an LLM powered chat window, with a human still present in the loop. OpenAI is quickly developing this near-term reality where discovery, decision making, and purchase all happen inside a single conversational surface. 

This is only the first chapter. The next leap is a world where agents drive the majority of commerce autonomously, searching, deciding, and transacting at machine speed. That future raises profound questions. Will the industry fragment into disconnected silos, or can we collectively build an interoperable ecosystem that protects merchant identity, data, and choice?

 This panel, featuring leaders from VF Corporation, OpenAI and Adyen, focuses on both horizons. We will explore how to enable tomorrow’s immediate need—commerce inside chat with humans in the loop—while also designing the long term infrastructure required for agent driven commerce at scale. That infrastructure relies on a Universal Translator model that allows retailers to plug in once and securely interact with any agent on any platform, while preserving brand equity, data ownership, and trust.

Why It Matters: This is not just a new chapter for retail, it is a complete rewrite. Preparing for both the immediate shift into conversational commerce and the long term rise of autonomous agents will determine who thrives in a world where commerce becomes invisible and trust becomes the defining factor.