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New capability combines product recommendations and customer service in a single AI conversation for retail brands
Gladly has launched agentic commerce, extending its existing agentic service capabilities to enable a single conversational AI system to handle both shopping and customer service interactions.
The company said the new capability is designed to replace the separate shopping assistants and support bots commonly deployed across retail websites, allowing customers to move from product discovery to service requests within the same conversation and customer record.
Connecting Shopping and Customer Service
Gladly said many retailers operate separate AI tools for sales and customer support, creating situations where a shopper may need to move between systems to resolve a question.
With agentic commerce, the same AI can access relevant customer information while helping with product discovery, answering questions and handling service requests. For example, a shopper asking about a product can also receive information about an existing order or whether a purchase qualifies for an exchange.
The approach is based on Gladly’s customer-centric platform architecture, which maintains the interaction around the customer rather than treating each website session as a separate experience.
AI Traffic Creates New Commerce Opportunity
The launch comes as AI-generated traffic becomes a larger part of online shopping journeys.
According to Adobe Analytics data cited by Gladly, AI traffic to U.S. retail websites increased 393% year over year in the first quarter of 2026. In March, AI-driven traffic converted 42% better than non-AI traffic and generated 37% more revenue per visit.
A separate Adobe survey of more than 5,000 respondents found that 39% of U.S. consumers were shopping with AI, while 85% said AI improved their shopping experience.
These trends suggest that retailers need AI systems capable of supporting shoppers not only during product discovery but also when questions or service issues arise later in the purchase journey.
Balsam Hill Reports Early Results
Gladly said its agentic commerce technology is already being used by Balsam Hill, a brand operated by Balsam Brands, in the U.S., U.K. and Australia.
According to a Gladly case study published September 14, one in five Balsam Hill shoppers who viewed a product through chat added that product to their cart during the first 30 days. Resolution rates ranged from 80% to 91%, while the tool generated more than six figures in add-to-cart value during its first month.
“The one elusive hole we had to fill was product questions,” said Joe Balczo, senior strategist for AI and CX technology at Balsam Brands. He said customers previously had to determine whether a shopping or service tool could answer their question, while the combined experience allows them to remain within one conversation.
Outcome-Based Pricing Model
Gladly said agentic commerce is offered as subscription software priced according to outcomes rather than the number of seats.
The company also offers a performance guarantee under which it says the technology will outperform a brand’s existing AI on conversion rate, resolution rate and customer satisfaction within 30 days. According to Gladly, brands that do not achieve those results pay nothing.
There are no implementation fees, and the company said typical deployments can launch in approximately one week.
Blurring the Line Between Commerce and Service
The launch reflects the growing convergence of ecommerce and customer service as retailers adopt AI across more stages of the customer journey.
By combining shopping assistance, customer information and service workflows within a single conversational system, Gladly is positioning agentic commerce as a way for retailers to reduce handoffs between sales and support while maintaining continuity throughout the customer experience.
