What are AI agents?
AI agents are AI systems that plan and carry out a multi-step task on behalf of a user, instead of only answering a question. They use a large language model to reason about the goal and then act: they search the web, open pages, fill in forms, call software tools and check the result before taking the next step.
A chatbot answers a question such as "which accounting tools suit a small agency?" An agent can take on a task such as "find three accounting tools under 50 euros a month that connect to our bank, compare them and book a demo with the best one" and work through it on its own, asking the user to confirm at key moments.
Agents connect to tools in different ways. Some operate a browser the way a person would, others use APIs or open standards such as the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to reach data and software directly. Major AI assistants now include agent features, and many businesses build their own agents for internal work.
Why AI agents matter for your brand
When an agent does the research, it decides which sites to visit, which facts to trust and which brands make the shortlist. The buyer may only see the final summary or recommendation. If your product information is hard to find, hidden behind scripts or inconsistent across sources, the agent may skip you without anyone noticing.
Agents are also starting to complete transactions. With agentic commerce, an agent moves from product research to checkout inside the AI assistant, for example through the Agentic Commerce Protocol from OpenAI and Stripe. Your visibility to agents then affects sales directly, not just awareness.
How to prepare your website for AI agents
Put key facts in plain HTML text: what you offer, prices, specifications, availability, delivery terms and contact options.
Add structured data so products, your organization and FAQs are machine-readable.
Keep forms, filters and checkout simple, with clear labels and no unnecessary steps.
Check that your robots.txt does not block the AI crawlers you want to allow, including bots that fetch pages at a user's request.
Make sure comparison and review sites describe your product correctly, since agents may consult them as well.
With Crawler Analytics, Trackbase shows which AI crawlers visit your site and which pages they read, so you can check whether AI systems reach your key content.
Examples of AI agents
A shopping agent is asked to find a waterproof commuter bike bag under 80 euros. It compares options from several webshops and adds the best match to the cart for the user to approve.
A procurement team uses an agent to shortlist B2B payroll software vendors, pulling pricing pages, security documentation and review scores into one comparison.
An agent books a restaurant table: it checks availability on three restaurant websites and fills in the reservation form.
A marketing team connects an internal agent to its analytics through MCP and asks it every Monday to summarize changes in brand visibility.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an AI agent and a chatbot?
A chatbot responds to messages: you ask, it answers. An AI agent works toward a goal. It breaks the task into steps, uses tools such as a browser, search or connected software, checks the results and continues until the task is done or it needs your input. Several AI assistants now combine both: they chat by default and switch to agent behavior for larger tasks.
Can AI agents buy products on my webshop?
In some cases, yes. Several AI assistants can operate a browser and fill in forms, and protocols such as the Agentic Commerce Protocol let agents complete purchases with merchants that support them. The user usually confirms the final payment. To be ready, make product data, stock levels and prices clear and keep your checkout simple.
How do I know whether AI agents visit my website?
Check your server logs or a crawler analytics tool for the user agents of AI bots. Some AI companies use separate user agents for visits triggered by a user, such as ChatGPT-User and Perplexity-User, next to their crawlers for training and search. JavaScript-based analytics tools usually miss these visits, because many AI bots do not run JavaScript.