RismadarVoice Reporters
September 2, 2026
Artificial intelligence company Anthropic has introduced new blueprints designed to help retailers build shopping and merchant AI agents using its Claude platform ahead of the holiday shopping season.
The company said the tools are aimed at helping retailers develop conversational AI systems that can assist customers with product searches, price comparisons, availability checks and personalised recommendations.
Anthropic said shoppers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence tools during their purchasing decisions, creating growing demand for AI-powered search and customer service solutions.
The company’s blueprints provide guidance for developing AI agents for retailers, travel companies and ticketing businesses. Customer-facing agents can suggest products based on individual preferences and assist shoppers by adding selected items to online carts.
Angela Jiang, Anthropic’s head of product for Claude, said early results from partnerships with retailers showed improvements in customer engagement, including increases in cart sizes and purchase completion rates.
“We’ve seen encouraging results — cart size up about 30–35% for one partner, and customers are about 60% more likely to complete a purchase,” Jiang said.
Anthropic said the merchant-focused blueprint allows companies to build AI agents capable of providing recommendations on inventory management, pricing strategies and marketing campaigns.
However, the company clarified that the merchant agents will not complete purchases on behalf of shoppers or retailers.
The launch comes as retailers increasingly explore artificial intelligence applications to improve online shopping experiences and compete during major sales periods, including the upcoming holiday shopping season.
