By Kasturi Datta |
09 January 2026
Microsoft has released a series of new agentic AI capabilities to equip retail teams in merchandising, marketing, store operations and fulfilment with context-aware tools designed to anticipate requirements and act accordingly.
“With Microsoft’s agentic AI, retailers can automate what slows them down and amplify what sets them apart, enabling faster decisions and stronger customer relationships while building operations ready for whatever comes next,” said Kathleen Mitford, corporate vice president of global industry at Microsoft.
AI-powered shopping assistant Copilot Checkout, now available in the US at Copilot.com, will enable merchants to reach shoppers as they complete purchases discovered within Copilot without needing to be redirected to external sites. PayPal, Shopify and Stripe are among the Microsoft partners enabling this experience, and shoppers will be able to purchase from retailers including Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie and Etsy.
“By bringing Etsy’s unique inventory to Copilot Checkout, we’re meeting buyers at the moment intent becomes action,” said Rafe Colburn, chief product and technology officer at Etsy.
Microsoft is introducing two AI solutions to integrate agentic commerce with digital platforms owned by retailers. Brand Agents answers detailed product questions and engages in brand-aligned conversations with customers and is already available to merchants on the Shopify platform. The personalised shopping agent template in Copilot Studio provides a fully customised framework for retailers to tailor shopping experiences to a higher level of detail. Microsoft is also launching the catalogue enrichment agent template in Copilot Studio. This AI assistant extracts product attributes from images, enriches them with social insights, and automates catalogue tasks such as product onboarding, categorisation and error resolution.
“With Microsoft’s catalogue enrichment agent template forming the backbone of our personalised shopping experiences, we can turn product details into meaningful insights that help shoppers discover styles in real time, receive tailored recommendations and explore complete looks,” said David Torrecilla, head of innovation at Guess.
The store operations agent template in Copilot Studio provides store associates with a natural language interface for quick answers on stock availability and store policies. The AI assistant analyses internal signals such as sales trends and foot traffic alongside external factors such as weather and holidays to deliver contextual recommendations for staffing, KPIs and operational priorities.
“The flexibility to shape the agent around our specific needs ensures our teams can focus on delivering exceptional service while we stay ahead in a fast-moving retail world,” said John Khoury, Group CTO at Strandbags.