a16z Partners Map Businesses Positioned for AI Agent Commerce

a16z partners Olivia Moore and Justine Moore argue that AI agents are becoming a major force in online commerce, influencing product choices, subscriptions and where people spend. They use the term “business-to-agent,” or B2A, for this shift.

AI-referred traffic to Shopify stores rose eightfold year over year in the first quarter, while orders generated by AI search increased nearly 13-fold.

The partners identify four groups positioned to benefit: companies building agent models, businesses creating new products enabled by AI agents, traditional businesses optimizing for AI agents and providers of agent infrastructure.

The framework adds a commerce angle to a16z managing partner Chris Dixon’s view of stablecoins as a natural way for AI agents to pay one another.