Microsoft Rolls Out Agentic AI Tools To Automate And Personalize Retail Operations

(RTTNews) - Microsoft (MSFT) has unveiled a new suite of agentic AI solutions designed to modernise retail operations across merchandising, marketing, fulfilment, and in-store execution, positioning the technology as a new operating layer for the industry.

At the centre of the update is Copilot Checkout, which allows shoppers to complete purchases directly within Microsoft Copilot without being redirected to external websites. The feature is now live in the U.S. and is supported by PayPal, Shopify and Stripe, with brands such as Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Ashley Furniture and selected Etsy sellers already participating.

To improve personalised shopping, Microsoft has rolled out Brand Agents for Shopify merchants and a customisable shopping agent template in Copilot Studio. These tools are trained on retailers' product catalogues to answer detailed questions, suggest products and guide customers through discovery.

The company is also introducing a catalogue enrichment agent that extracts and structures product information from images, automating onboarding, categorisation and error correction to improve search and recommendations.

For physical stores, Microsoft launched a store operations agent that enables staff to check inventory, review policies and manage workflows through natural language, using internal sales data and external signals such as weather and local events to recommend staffing and operational priorities.

Microsoft said the new agentic AI tools are aimed at reducing manual processes, improving efficiency and helping retailers respond faster to changing customer behaviour.

Thursday MSFT closed at $478.11, down 1.14%, and is currently trading after hours at $478.24, up 0.03%, on the NasdaqGS.