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Fewer search impressions and less sponsored-product inventory could push some performance budgets toward AI agents and branding spend toward social and video. Yet the economics may not deteriorate sharply.
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Storyboard•06-10-2026, 08:55
AI Agents Set to Disrupt E-Commerce, Reshaping Shopping Habits and Ad Spend
  • •India's eRetail advertising reached INR 176 billion in CY25, driven largely by human browsing behavior that is now being challenged by AI shopping agents.
  • •Quick commerce platforms like Blinkit and Instamart face higher risks as habitual purchases move to automated agents, while discovery platforms like Nykaa are less exposed.
  • •Marketing departments are rapidly adopting AI, with 48% of operations teams using AI agents in pilot programs and 19% utilizing them in production.
  • •Advertising is shifting from traditional cost-per-click models toward outcome-based metrics, focusing on agent share of recommendation and transaction value.
  • •Platforms risk losing control of the customer interface, requiring them to balance superior backend execution with proprietary agentic capabilities.
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Key Questions Answered

A 15% reduction in grocery ads could reduce Eternal's FY29 consolidated EBITDA by roughly 5%, as habit-driven quick commerce platforms are most exposed to agent-driven shopping disruptions.

Categories like beauty, apparel, and consumer durables rely heavily on human browsing, inspiration, and discovery rather than straightforward replenishment, making them far less susceptible to agentic automation.

Industry leaders suggest shifting from attention-based metrics to transaction or outcome-based models, such as cost per qualified intent, cost per inclusion in the agent's consideration set, and share of generated GMV.

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