A narrower starting point
The useful first question is not whether an agent can run a store. It is whether it can help someone choose between a small set of products using verified catalogue information.
Experiments · 4-minute read
The agentic storefront
A design study for shopping assistance that keeps product facts, choices and checkout in the buyer’s hands.
Design the boundary
Ask for the buyer’s need, retrieve matching products, explain the differences and link to the source product pages. Mark unavailable facts as unknown. Let the buyer review the basket and authorize checkout in the store’s normal flow.
What to test
Try an ambiguous request, an out-of-stock product, a missing specification and a request outside the catalogue. Observe whether the assistant asks a useful question and avoids inventing a recommendation. This is a design blueprint, not a deployed shopping agent.
