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title: "Business-to-agent (B2A) in 2027: how commerce, booking, and appointment businesses can win AI agents"
description: "AI agents now search, compare and book for customers. What agentic commerce and B2A mean in 2027 for commerce, booking and appointment businesses."
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date_modified: "2026-11-13T04:25:19.862Z"
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# Business-to-agent (B2A) in 2027: how commerce, booking, and appointment businesses can win AI agents

*YeeLin Thum — Head of Brand & Communications*

## Summary

- B2A is the business side of agentic commerce, where a customer's AI agent searches, compares, and books for them.

- AI agents ask businesses about stock, slots, and prices at any hour, and move on if nobody answers.

- Visa found 58% of US consumers are comfortable with AI comparing prices, but only 38% with AI completing a purchase.

- Keep prices, availability, and policies easy for AI agents to read, and have your team and AI agent ready to answer.

- In B2A, a conversation still decides the sale, only now a person might send their AI agent to do the talking.

Businesses spent years keeping bots off their websites to stop data theft, fake bookings, and fraud.

Now they'll have to compete for them, as Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) argues in its piece on [the B2A economy](https://a16z.com/welcome-to-the-b2a-economy/), short for business-to-agent. As AI agents start shopping, comparing, and booking for people, those AI agents will decide which businesses get the sale or booking, and which get skipped.

And it's all happening at warp speed.

In just two months, from August to October 2026, AI agent traffic on the web grew 8X. More than half of it (59% in October) came from one AI agent, Meta's Muse, according to [HUMAN Security data](https://www.humansecurity.com/learn/blog/october-2026-agentic-traffic/).

Shopify sees it in its own stores too, where orders from AI searches [grew nearly 13X](https://www.shopify.com/ca/blog/how-agentic-commerce-works) year over year in early 2026.

So far, most advice on agentic commerce is about getting found by AI agents, through clean product data and pages they can read. But that's only half of winning a sale.

The other half is closing the sale when the AI agent asks something your website can't answer, like whether a jacket comes in a bigger size or if you can seat 12 on Friday with a deposit.

Let's look at what B2A will mean in 2027 for commerce, booking, and appointment businesses, and how you can win both halves.

## What is B2A, and how is it different from agentic commerce?

B2A, or business-to-agent, is commerce where an AI agent acts for the customer. The AI agent searches, compares, and sometimes books or buys, using the details its owner gave it. Agentic commerce describes what those AI agents do; B2A describes the business side, selling to them. It sits alongside B2C and B2B, with one change: the first reader of your prices, availability, and policies is software.

The biggest platforms are already building for it:

- **Google.** Its AI Mode finds open restaurant tables and sends people straight to book, now live in the US and [8 more markets](https://9to5google.com/2026/04/10/google-ai-mode-redesign/), including the UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, India, and Australia. In the US, Google Search can also [call a local business](https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/16/google-rolls-out-ai-powered-business-calling-feature-brings-gemini-2-5-pro-to-ai-mode) for a searcher to ask about prices and availability.
- **Meta.** It launched [Muse, a personal AI agent](https://about.fb.com/news/2026/09/introducing-muse-personal-ai-agent/), in the US in September 2026. People can use it in its own app or inside WhatsApp, and it can book, buy, and fill in forms for them.
- **OpenAI.** ChatGPT now lets companies claim a business profile and add product feeds, so the assistant can recommend them with current details.

Your customer still gets the jacket or the table at the end of the day.

Their AI agent just gets to you first.

## Where is B2A happening around the world?

B2A isn't a US-only story. AI agents already pay for things in Latin America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, and many shoppers in the Middle East say they'd let one shop for them. The pace differs by market, and it mostly comes down to how much people trust AI with their money.

- **Americas.** In the US, Muse and Google's AI calling are already live. In Latin America, Santander and Visa completed the region's [first live AI agent payments](https://www.pymnts.com/partnerships/2026/santander-and-visa-launch-latam-agentic-payments-project) in March 2026, across Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Uruguay.
- **Europe.** In March 2026, Santander and Mastercard completed [Europe's first live payment](https://www.santander.com/en/press-room/press-releases/2026/03/santander-and-mastercard-complete-europes-first-live-end-to-end-payment-executed-by-an-ai-agent) made end to end by an AI agent. One gap is worth knowing: when Google took AI Mode global, [EU countries weren't included](https://the-decoder.com/google-is-making-ai-mode-in-search-more-agentic-and-launching-it-in-over-180-new-countries/).
- **Middle East.** In Checkout.com's research, [half of consumers](https://www.checkout.com/en-ae/news/from-invisible-payments-to-ai-agents-why-trust-is-the-new-currency-for-digital-commerce-in-mena) across the Middle East and North Africa said they're comfortable letting an AI agent shop for them, while 55% named privacy as a main barrier.
- **Asia Pacific.** Mastercard went live with AI agent payments in [Singapore and Malaysia](https://fintechly.com/payments/ai-agent-payments-in-asia-are-taking-off-but-is-the-region-ready/) in April 2026, and Google's AI agent booking covers Hong Kong and Singapore. Visa found [74% of consumers in Asia Pacific](https://www.visa.com.sg/about-visa/stories/2026/agentic-commerce-gets-real-in-asia-pacific-is-the-ecosystem-ready.html) already use AI tools to find, track, or learn about products.

## Can AI agents complete a purchase on their own?

Mostly, not yet.

AI agents are good at finding and comparing options, but the final step usually comes back to the business. Buying inside ChatGPT was scaled back in 2026, and most shoppers still want the last word on spending. The AI agent brings you the lead, and your team or your AI agent still has to answer and close.

You can see it in four places:

- **AI agents miss what the customer needs.** When Visa put 22 AI models through 15 shopping tasks, they [failed 42.8% of runs](https://usa.visa.com/about-visa/newsroom/press-releases.releaseId.22936.html). In 54% of those failures, they bought something anyway, usually because they never found out what the customer actually needed.
- **Platforms pulled back on in-chat checkout.** ChatGPT launched Instant Checkout in September 2025. In March 2026, OpenAI [refocused ChatGPT shopping](https://openai.com/index/powering-product-discovery-in-chatgpt/) on product discovery, with merchants running checkout on their own sites.
- **Shoppers want control of the last step.** In [Visa's business-to-AI research](https://corporate.visa.com/en/sites/visa-perspectives/press-releases/b2ai-agentic-commerce-ai-customer.html), 58% of US consumers were comfortable with AI comparing prices, but only 38% with AI completing a purchase.
- **Businesses are wary too.** HUMAN Security found that in August 2026 the [blocking rate for AI agent traffic](https://www.humansecurity.com/learn/blog/state-of-agentic-traffic-august-2026-agentic-traffic-grows-27-reaches-new-high-as-codex-debuts-strongly/) reached 21.9%, its highest yet. a16z notes most large companies still block AI agents over fraud and chargeback concerns.

Those roadblocks sit between the shortlist and the payment, and that's where businesses win or lose B2A. An AI agent connected to your stock, calendar, and customer records can ask what the customer needs, check live availability, and close the sale or booking right in the chat, with your team stepping in when a person is needed.

## What questions might AI agents ask your business?

Mostly the same things your customers already ask: is it in stock, is there a slot, what will it cost, and so on. And those answers change with your stock, calendar, and rules, so a static page or FAQ can't keep up. To win the sale, your team or your AI agent needs to answer from live information.

By business type:

Funnily enough, AI agents shop around just like we do.

In October 2026, HUMAN Security found that 85% of their visits went to product and search pages, and fewer than 2 in 100 reached checkout. That's a lot of window shopping, so each business gets a short window to make its case.

An AI agent working through a list doesn't wait for a reply tomorrow. If your chat goes quiet or your reply takes hours, it moves to the next name.

## How can businesses win AI agents in 2027?

To win AI agents in 2027, businesses need to do three things. Make your facts easy for any AI agent to read. Give AI agents a way to talk to your business, ideally through your own AI agent, which you train on your stock, calendar, and rules so it can answer at any hour. And keep your team and that AI agent in the same conversation, so nothing a customer's AI agent asks goes unanswered.

### Make your facts easy for AI agents to read

AI agents shortlist from what they can read: your prices, hours, stock, policies, and booking links. If those differ between your website, your Google Business Profile, and your catalog, the AI agent has to guess, and it usually skips you. So keep the same, current facts everywhere an AI agent looks.

What that means by business type:

- **Commerce.** Keep product data, stock, delivery times, and return rules current wherever you sell, including the feeds that AI assistants read.
- **Bookings.** Publish real availability through your booking system and keep deposits, group rules, and cancellation terms in plain words.
- **Appointments.** Keep services, prices or price ranges, and opening hours the same on every profile, so an AI agent calling or browsing gets one answer.

### Give AI agents someone to talk to

Your website can't answer every question, like whether a salon can fit in a manicure before 3 PM. But your team can. And the best setup is people and AI agents working as one team, sharing the workload so every question gets a fast, proper answer at any hour.

To work as part of your team, your AI agent should:

- **Know your business.** [Learn from your website and data](/agentflow), and get smarter with every conversation.
- **Work from live information.** Connect to Shopify, your booking system, or your CRM, so it checks stock, slots, and orders before it answers.
- **Finish the job.** Recommend products and add them to the customer's cart right in the chat, so your team can send the payment link and close the sale.
- **Bring in your team.** Hand over to a person in the same conversation, right in your [shared team inbox](/inbox), with the full history.
- **Show up where your customers are.** Answer on WhatsApp, Instagram, and your website chat, at any hour.

a16z lists communication, naming iMessage, calls, and email, as one of the places AI agent traffic is already straining systems. Let's add chat apps to that list.

In many of the markets SleekFlow works in, customers already buy and book on WhatsApp, so that's where customers' own AI agents will eventually show up next. Your team and your AI agent need to be ready to answer there.

### Keep your team and AI agent in the same conversation

In the same Visa research, about a third of consumers trusted AI from their bank or payment network, and fewer (28%) trusted independent AI agents. And 60% wouldn't let AI spend a single cent without their say-so. Businesses earn that trust when the customer, or their AI agent, sees one conversation with full context, whoever is answering.

In practice, that means:

- **Your team sets the rules** the AI agent works by: what it can book, quote, or promise.
- **Either can pick up the thread.** Your AI agent and your team work from the same history, so a handover never starts from scratch.
- **Nothing waits.** Every question gets an answer inside your hours and outside them.

### What this looks like in practice

Colégio Cognos, a school in Brazil, wanted its WhatsApp chats to end in a booked school visit. It trained a SleekFlow AI agent on how the school actually works, and the AI agent now guides parents all the way to a confirmed visit within the school's hours. When a person is needed, the team steps in on the same conversation.

Results:

- 150% increase in confirmed visits via WhatsApp
- 50% reduction in the service queue
- No more customers waiting over 24 hours for a response

[Read the Colégio Cognos story](/customer-stories/colegio-cognos-customer-story)

## Will AI agents replace customer conversations?

No. AI agents change who starts the conversation, not whether it happens. A customer's AI agent still needs answers about the slot, the stock, or the price, and your team or your AI agent still has to give them. The businesses that win B2A in 2027 will answer both the customer and the customer's AI agent, quickly and in one place.

For years, businesses worked on replying to customers fast enough. In 2027, they'll need to reply just as fast to the AI agents working for those customers.

> **Henson Tsai, Founder and CEO at SleekFlow:** "We envision a future where every business will sell, serve, and grow through conversation, and B2A only raises the stakes. My first startup was a takeaway app. Customers kept skipping the app and ordering on WhatsApp. That taught us that people will use whatever channel gets them a real answer. Soon, a customer asking about your product might actually be a customer's AI agent, and it won't wait until morning for a reply. So my advice is simple: be where your customers already talk to you, and make sure every question gets an answer that actually helps, whether a person asks it or their AI agent does."

Businesses spent years keeping bots out of their websites.

In 2027, the ones that win will be ready to talk to both them and the customers who sent them.

Are you ready?

### What does B2A stand for?

B2A stands for business to agent. It describes commerce where an AI agent acts for a customer, searching, comparing, and sometimes booking or buying on their behalf. The term sits next to B2C and B2B rather than replacing them, because a person is still the one who benefits from the purchase or booking.

### What is agentic commerce?

Agentic commerce is shopping and booking done by AI agents on a person's behalf. The AI agent searches, compares, and, where its owner allows it, books or pays, within the limits that person sets. It's already live in places like Google's AI Mode, which finds open restaurant tables, and in AI agent payments run by banks such as Santander.

### Is B2A the same as agentic commerce?

They overlap. Agentic commerce usually describes the transactions AI agents carry out, like finding a product or paying for it. B2A describes the relationship from the business side: who you're selling to, and what you need to change when the first visitor is a customer's AI agent instead of the customer.

### Which companies are using agentic commerce?

The big search and chat platforms are building it in. Google's AI Mode finds open restaurant tables, Meta's Muse AI agent can book and buy for people in the US, and ChatGPT recommends businesses from their product feeds. On the payments side, Visa, Mastercard, and banks like Santander have run live AI agent payments in Latin America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.

### What is an example of agentic commerce?

A customer asks their AI agent to find a table for six on Friday. The AI agent checks restaurants, compares the options, and books one, or sends the customer a link to confirm. Another real example: in March 2026, Santander and Mastercard completed Europe's first live payment made end to end by an AI agent.

### How big is agentic commerce?

Forecasts vary a lot, depending on what counts as agentic commerce. Morgan Stanley estimates AI shopping agents could account for $190 billion to $385 billion of US e-commerce spending by 2030, or 10% to 20% of the market. Bain puts it at $300 billion to $500 billion, roughly 15% to 25% of US e-commerce.

### Is B2A only for e-commerce?

No. Restaurants, hotels, clinics, salons, and car service centers already get AI agent traffic, from AI booking features to AI phone calls. B2B is moving too. In Visa's business-to-AI research, 53% of US business leaders said they'd let AI agents negotiate prices or terms directly with other AI agents for them.

### Do I need my own AI agent to sell to AI agents?

Not to be found, but it helps you get chosen. Clear, current facts get you shortlisted. When a customer's AI agent has a question your website or product listings can't answer, like a specific slot or a size exchange, your own AI agent can answer it straight away and move the sale forward, with your team stepping in to close when needed.

### Can a business block AI agents?

Yes. Many websites block AI agent traffic, and in the US, businesses can opt out of Google's automated calls in their Business Profile settings. Blocking has a cost, though. A customer's AI agent that can't reach you will usually move on to a business it can reach.