Agent-Assisted Shopping: Connecting Search, Checkout and Payment

Scenario analysis · Sources reviewed October 28, 2026 · Hypothetical example.

“Buy me a chair for a small apartment, under 800 yuan.” The request involves search, filtering, selecting a product, choosing an address and delivery, confirming the total, payment and after-sales support. What an agent can do depends on user authorization, merchant information and checkout integration.

Six stages

flowchart LR A[Understand preferences and constraints] --> B[Discover products] B --> C[Compare prices and terms] C --> D[Prepare checkout] D --> E[Authorization and payment] E --> F[Delivery and support]

A chair listed at 699 yuan may cost more after shipping, tax or assembly, and return terms affect the choice. Stock can change before confirmation. Check the product, total, shipping address and changes at checkout, not just the search result.

Three levels of assistance

Mode	Agent action	User involvement
Recommendation	Search, compare and provide links	Choose and pay personally
Checkout assistance	Prepare cart and payment information	Review and confirm final order
Autonomous within constraints	Purchase under previously set conditions	Agree to conditions in advance; confirm exceptions

Autonomy does not mean unlimited purchasing. Users might limit model, total, expiry or merchant, depending on product support. Substitutions, address changes or exceeding the budget can trigger renewed confirmation.

Protocols coordinate participants, not fulfillment

Discovery, cart, checkout and authorization are different steps. ACP and UCP describe open commerce specifications; AP2 flows describe authorization records for checkout and payment. They cover different layers and cannot each be treated as the whole transaction. Check implementation compatibility before combining them.

In an AP2 user-absent flow, a user first authorizes constraints; the agent later selects qualifying checkout contents and supplies verifiable authorization. This is a specification description, not evidence that every retailer supports it.

After purchase

User question	Records needed at minimum
Why this item?	Important criteria, alternatives and rationale
How much was paid?	Order total, fees and payment status
Where is the product?	Merchant order number, shipping and delivery status
What if it is wrong?	Cancellation, return and refund channels and merchant rules

Payment success is not shipment or customer satisfaction. Incorrect choices, late delivery and disputes depend on the actual merchant and payment-service policies.

A useful experience distinguishes what the user authorized, what the agent bought and what the merchant promised to deliver. Assess the complete order and after-sales path, not just whether a payment click can be automated.

Sources: ACP, UCP, AP2 flows and Stripe on asynchronous payment and fulfillment events.