Sep 23, 2026 · 23 min
Meta bets partnerships can unlock agentic commerce
Musings About the Agentic Future
The episode tests whether AI agents will reshape shopping first for consumers or for businesses, while weighing which technology companies can capture the value.
- 1Meta’s partnerships with Shopify, PayPal, and Expedia could give its agentic platform an early path into online spending.
- 2B2B purchasing may adopt AI agents faster because inventory and ERP workflows are predictable and immediately automatable.
- 3Alphabet has major distribution advantages, but the technology may be easy enough for competitors to replicate.
Don't miss
The hosts make the case that B2B purchasing, especially inventory and ERP workflows, may be agentic AI’s first major commercial breakthrough.
The brief
Travis Hoium, Lou Whiteman, and Tyler Crowe examine Muse’s momentum and ask whether Meta has found a durable route into agentic commerce.
Meta’s partnerships with Shopify, PayPal, and Expedia contrast with Amazon’s walled-garden strategy, raising questions about who controls the customer and the transaction.
The hosts argue that AI agents may transform B2B purchasing before consumer shopping, where impulse, discretion, and in-person experiences make automation less straightforward.
Inventory management and ERP systems offer businesses predictable workflows where agents can deliver immediate value, while automated household buying could create unintended consequences.
Alphabet can draw on its operating system and user connections, but the hosts leave the long-term winner uncertain because competitors may be able to copy the technology.
What was said on this episode
21 statements · 7 positive · 9 negative · 2 mixed · 3 neutral
Amazon will resist competitors threatening its e-commerce position or proprietary advantages.
“Amazon is Amazon loves being the biggest thing in e-commerce. If someone's going to come in and try to take some of what they're doing from them or kind of take some of their secret sauce, they're going to push back”
Listen at 1:34
Meta is using Muse primarily to collect extensive user information.
“They're trying to gather as much information as possible.”
Listen at 3:53
Alphabet may block Muse from scraping Google and YouTube data.
“I can imagine that Google would or Alphabet would do the same for YouTube and Google because they have these walled gardens of advertising.”
Listen at 4:31
Meta is giving Muse away to build market share.
“the kinder view of what they're doing right now giving away is the land and expand, just trying to get market share”
Listen at 6:19
A dominant shopping agent could become too valuable for Amazon to block.
“The end game is one of these things becomes so good that the Amazons in the world can't block because they're costing themselves business”
Listen at 6:44
Popular shopping agents could divert discretionary spending from Amazon.
“There is a world in which some of this can pull some discretionary spend away from Amazon.”
Listen at 10:14
Muse partnerships benefit Shopify and PayPal but are not investment thesis game changers.
“it does. benefit, but I wouldn't necessarily call it like a game changer to the investment thesis in any of the companies mentioned.”
Listen at 11:05
Investors should not infer much from companies joining Muse early.
“The takeaway for investors is be careful. Don't read much into that.”
Listen at 11:42
Early Muse partnerships provide little evidence about future revenue or business impact.
“it's not worth the paper it's printed on.”
Listen at 11:57
AI agents will enable more direct commerce and reduce intermediary roles.
“the promise of these agents is more direct commerce and destroying the middlemen.”
Listen at 13:56
Investors should not assume some intermediaries will survive agentic commerce better than others.
“long-term, I would be very careful assuming one middleman makes it and another doesn't because the whole point of this is to relieve the friction, get rid of the middleman.”
Listen at 14:21
Agentic AI has limited power for individual consumer spending.
“I actually have more doubts about it from a like a individual consumer level”
Listen at 16:31
Agentic commerce has greater opportunity in B2B than individual consumer markets.
“there's going to be a little bit more. opportunity in this agentic commerce on the B2B side rather than from the individual consumer perspective.”
Listen at 17:09
AAR’s ERP agents will automate much of commercial airlines’ inventory planning.
“agentic AI capabilities into their ERP systems that are going to basic... to take away a lot of the inventory planning for its commercial airline customers.”
Listen at 18:23
Niche companies serving specialized industries could gain immense value from agentic commerce.
“I really do think it's going to be these niche, niche companies working in very esoteric areas that could. generate immense value from this agentic commerce sort of revolution.”
Listen at 19:18
Agentic commerce could become significant and reduce traditional search business.
“I do think there is ways where this can become the new big thing and it does eat into the search business”
Listen at 20:17
Agentic commerce’s broader effects will take a generation or longer to unfold.
“The reality is this is going to take a generation to play out, if not longer.”
Listen at 20:34
Google will eventually offer comparable agentic functionality directly on smartphones.
“by then, Google is going to kind of be there and do it for you right on your phone.”
Listen at 21:53
Alphabet can copy Muse and win because of its existing user connections.
“yes, they can copy this and they can win because they already have the connections.”
Listen at 22:00
A company other than Alphabet or Meta, possibly Apple, may build a superior agent.
“it's quite possible someone other than Alphabet or Meta will simply do it better. Maybe Apple.”
Listen at 22:08
The eventual winner in agentic AI is unknown over a five-year horizon.
“we do not know what who's the winner will be in five years.”
Listen at 22:18
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.