By 2027-2028, the “Visit Website” button disappears. AI agents complete purchases without users ever seeing a product page. Zero-click commerce becomes reality as transactions flow through agent protocols rather than human interfaces. The web transforms from human-readable to machine-actionable.
The infrastructure is already being built. OpenAI’s Agentic Commerce Protocol launched September 2025 with Instant Checkout in ChatGPT. ChatGPT-referred traffic converts at 11.4% – nearly double the 10.2% rate of direct website visits. Google’s Agent Payments Protocol launched simultaneously with 60+ partners including Mastercard, PayPal, and American Express.
The trajectory is clear: Short-term (2026), merchants support both protocols while attribution becomes nearly impossible. Medium-term (2027-2028), one protocol emerges dominant and zero-click commerce becomes the default experience for routine purchases.
Framework Analysis
Zero-click commerce represents a fundamental shift in how value flows online. Currently: User searches, browses product pages, compares options, clicks checkout. Future: User states intent, agent evaluates options using structured data, agent completes transaction, user receives product.
The implications cascade through the entire value chain. Website design becomes less important than data structure. Brand advertising shifts from awareness to agent-level recognition. Conversion optimization moves from UX to schema completeness. The entire discipline of e-commerce UX may become obsolete for commoditized products.
Strategic Implications
For merchants, zero-click commerce creates existential urgency around data quality. If agents never show users your product page, your competitive advantage must exist in the data feed – pricing, availability, ratings, fulfillment speed, return policies. The Agentic Commerce Stack rewards structured data over beautiful interfaces.
For brands, the shift demands new strategies. Either become so strong that users specify you by name (forcing agents to route to you), or optimize so thoroughly that agents select you algorithmically. The middle position – relying on website experience to convert browsing traffic – disappears.
The Deeper Pattern
Every interface abstraction eventually gets automated away. Travel agents became Expedia became Google Flights. The website product page is next. Interfaces exist to help humans navigate complexity; agents navigate complexity directly.
Key Takeaway
Zero-click commerce eliminates the website visit entirely for routine purchases. By 2027-2028, transactions flow through agent protocols, making data structure more important than page design.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
