AI-driven traffic to Shopify stores rose eightfold in the first quarter of 2026 from a year earlier, according to an analysis published by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
Agents could increasingly choose products and services for users, the firm said in its Nov. 11 newsletter, “Welcome to the B2A Economy.” That could change how businesses attract customers. Its argument extends beyond shopping to how agents direct users and spending toward digital services.
Shopify reported that orders from AI-powered searches grew nearly thirteenfold over the same period, the newsletter said. It also cited Human Security figures showing that traffic from browsers operated by agents grew eightfold between August and October.
Muse accounted for 60% of that activity, while OpenAI products together accounted for 30%, Human Security's figures showed. Andreessen Horowitz said AI referrals brought more engaged visitors and converted more traffic into revenue than other referrals, with fewer visitors leaving immediately.
The analysis drew on company disclosures, traffic figures and an example of the firm's own use of software. Its examples covered periods from May 2025 through October 2026. Andreessen Horowitz said it had not independently verified information obtained from outside sources.
The firm said most agent traffic currently runs through browsers, with software clicking through websites much as people do. Connections that let agents access other products directly are beginning to offer another route, it said.
In its own example, Andreessen Horowitz asked ChatGPT to create and edit a video advertisement using Krea, Descript and Eleven Labs. The agent coordinated the products and prompted a purchase of a paid Descript plan to complete the task, the firm said.
Coding tools offer an example of agents generating demand for other software, the firm said. Supabase reported in June that AI tools launched more than 60% of its new databases. Neon reported in May 2025 that automated agents deployed 80% of its new databases.
Stripe reported in June that agents accounted for nearly 40% of traffic to its documentation and 70% of command-line requests for its programming resources. Vercel reported in October that deployments triggered by agents had risen twenty-eightfold over the previous year.
Andreessen Horowitz identified potential beneficiaries including agent developers, businesses built around agents, existing companies that adapt their services, and suppliers of payments, identity and communication tools. It said agents could move beyond helping users find products to evaluating choices and completing purchases.
That change depends on agents reaching ordinary consumers and attracting sustained use, the firm said. It described the forms new businesses might take as difficult to predict and said AI's effect on distribution was still at an early stage.
Most enterprises still block agent traffic because of concerns about fraud and disputed payments, Andreessen Horowitz said. The firm nevertheless expects businesses to accept more of that traffic as agents become a more valuable source of customers.
