Firms Race to Protect AI Shopping Agents (But From Who?)🛡️

It’s wild out here. AI is both the hero and the villain. You’re using AI to scale your ecom brand; others are using it to set traps.

Hi there, and welcome to another issue of The Ecom Press 🗞️!

Thanks to proactive orgs, we can actually use secure AI agents with minimal risks—AI safety nets in ecommerce aren’t too far off 😁. Also on deck: Shopify just gained enterprise-grade AI merchandising, and eBay is rolling out fresh AI tools for sellers 🚀.

Oh, and don’t miss our Insider workshop — we’ve got a gem on designing your Shopify store 🛍️.

Buckle up, it’s another packed week in ecommerce. Let’s dive in.

In a rush? Here's the juice🤭:

🤝 Firms team up to secure AI shopping agents.

🛒 Enterprise merchandising, now native on Shopify.

🤖 eBay launches new AI tools for sellers.

🛠 Workshop: How to design your Shopify store

⚡️Worthy Mentions

🤝 Firms team up to secure AI shopping agents.

Riskified and HUMAN Security have formed a strategic partnership to build a unified security framework designed for the rise of AI shopping agents. The collaboration aims to help merchants embrace agent-driven commerce while minimizing fraud, inventory abuse, and reputational risks.

Here’s the lowdown ⬇️:

🤖 AI Shopping Risks: As consumers increasingly use LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity to research and shop, merchants face new challenges. Rules-based fraud systems often fail when AI agents transact, removing behavioral cues that normally flag suspicious activity.

📊 Higher Fraud Exposure: Early data from Riskified shows LLM-referred traffic is significantly riskier—2.3x higher for a ticketing merchant compared to Google traffic, and 1.8x higher for an electronics retailer. Fraudsters are also deploying agents for reseller arbitrage, stripping inventory at scale and reselling through fraudulent storefronts, which other agents then promote.

🔑 Solutions from Riskified & HUMAN:

⏩ New tools introduced by Riskified include:

• AI Agent Approve: A server package enabling merchants/LLMs to integrate securely with Riskified’s APIs.

• AI Agent Intelligence: Dashboard tracking orders from AI agents.

• AI Agent Policy Builder: Detects and prevents abuse like reseller arbitrage, promo abuse, and returns abuse.

⏩ HUMAN contributes Sightline with AgenticTrust, providing visibility into AI agent interactions and a framework to enforce “trust or not” policies.

💬 Executive Perspective: Riskified CTO Assaf Feldman emphasized that AI agents complicate identity and trust, but with HUMAN, merchants can safely turn the shift into a growth channel. HUMAN’s John Searby highlighted the goal of approving more legitimate orders while reducing false declines and protecting margins.

Why it matters 🤔

Already, fraudsters are exploiting AI to bypass defenses, distort attribution, and manipulate inventory. If merchants can’t distinguish between genuine and fraudulent agent activity, they risk losing not just revenue but credibility with customers. While it’s wise to hop on the AI commerce train, it’s also advisable to adapt early with AI-native fraud defenses. This way, these agents truly become profitable channels with minimal risks.

🛒 Enterprise merchandising, now native on Shopify.

Crownpeak has launched the Fredhopper Product Discovery App for Shopify, giving enterprise merchants access to AI-powered search, personalized recommendations, and intelligent merchandising directly inside the Shopify ecosystem. 

The app eliminates the need for middleware or custom integrations, accelerating enterprise adoption of Shopify for global-scale retail.

Here are the deets ⬇️:

🛍️ Enterprise-Grade Capabilities: Fredhopper has long powered personalization for global retailers like Sephora and Calvin Klein. The Shopify app now delivers the same sophistication natively, enabling merchants to combine speed with enterprise-level control.

🔎 AI-Powered Search and Recommendations: The app interprets shopper intent, not just keywords, delivering highly relevant results and adaptive product recommendations designed to drive conversion.

🌍 Global Reach: Built for large catalogs and multi-market operations, the app fully supports Shopify Markets for language and region-specific catalogs, ensuring localized shopping experiences at scale.

⚙️ Native Integration: Leveraging Shopify’s GraphQL Bulk and Streaming APIs, the app ensures fast, reliable syncing of catalog data. Merchants can deploy advanced functionality in weeks rather than months, supported by Theme App Blocks and an SDK for customization.

🤝 Built with Shopify Experts: Developed in partnership with agency Underwaterpistol, the app combines enterprise-grade technical infrastructure with practical usability for scaling teams.

Why it matters 🤨

For large brands, the Fredhopper app means they can scale globally without leaving the Shopify ecosystem or relying on costly custom builds. For smaller but fast-growing merchants, it signals that Shopify’s preparing to support them as they outgrow basic search and merchandising tools. This app likely resolves the tradeoff between agility and control for merchants.

🤑 Sponsored tip of the week

🚀 Explore the Power of the Shopify Theme Store

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🤖 eBay launches new AI tools for sellers.

At its OPEN25 event in Las Vegas — its first in-person seller gathering in five years — eBay introduced a new suite of tools designed to save sellers time, improve profitability, and strengthen trust on the platform. 

The updates include AI-powered messaging, cost tracking, inventory management, and new protections aimed at addressing long-standing seller pain points.

Here’s the scoop 🍨:

🤖 AI Messaging Assistant: This tool drafts suggested replies to common buyer questions directly from listing details and order data. Sellers retain full control to edit or approve responses, helping them save time without sacrificing accuracy.

💬 Offers in Messaging: Buyers and sellers can now negotiate prices within the same conversation thread, making counteroffers and acceptances faster and more seamless. Available now in the U.S. on mobile and web.

📊 Track Your Costs: A new feature in Seller Hub and the Payments tab lets sellers input and update item-level costs, enabling smarter pricing, ad rate adjustments, and promotion planning. Launching in the U.S. this fall.

📦 Inventory Mapping API: For sellers managing large catalogs, this new API generates optimized titles, specifics, and descriptions from product images or IDs. Rolling out to select U.S. sellers in the coming weeks.

🚚 Seller Protections for INR Claims: From October, if sellers ship on time with tracked labels and a delayed item later arrives after a refund, eBay will reimburse the cost and remove negative feedback.

⭐ Automated Feedback: Starting in September, eBay will leave positive feedback automatically when sellers deliver on time with tracking and no issues are reported.

Why it matters 🤷‍♂️

eBay is moving to reduce seller friction in areas that directly impact trust and profitability. Automating feedback and enforcing fair protections could help sellers maintain margins and credibility in a competitive marketplace. Believe it or not, platforms are beginning to compete on the quality of seller support, not just buyer reach.

🛎️ The Ecom Press Insider

Ecom Fact: Nearly half of retailers (45%) are already using AI weekly, and a massive 97% plan to maintain or increase their AI spend this year. Yet, only 11% feel fully ready to scale AI across their business, pointing to a big gap between enthusiasm and execution (Source: Business Wire).

💡 Takeaway: From recent updates, we’ve seen how ecommerce has moved from just testing AI to scaling it. But then, the real edge won’t come from plugging in shiny tools, but from pairing AI with solid data foundations that turn experiments into higher conversions and repeat buyers.

🛠 Workshop: How to design your Shopify store

Design can make or break your store. A cluttered, amateurish site kills trust, while a polished design gets visitors clicking “add to cart.” This week, we’re sharing a beginner-friendly Shopify store design tutorial, thanks to Mike. Believe it, it’s a goldmine. 

If you’re starting from scratch or giving your store a facelift, this one’s for you. 👉 Watch the full tutorial here. In a rush, here are quick steps:

✨ Pick the right theme – Start with Shopify’s free themes (like Horizon). They give you a professional base without the $300+ price tag of paid ones.

🖼 Customize sections and blocks – Shopify uses a section-and-block system. Add product carousels, images, text, or buttons, and rearrange them to craft a clean flow.

🎨 Set up branding basics – Upload your logo, favicon, and choose consistent colors and fonts. A tight visual identity makes your store look legit.

🛍 Add products and collections – Organize items with smart collections (like “under $100” or “summer picks”) so your site updates automatically as inventory changes.

💳 Finish with essentials – Connect payments, set shipping rules, add a domain, and don’t forget policies and discount codes. These details build customer trust.

🚀 Ready to dive deeper? Watch the full Shopify store design tutorial on YouTube

 and build alongside Mike step-by-step.

⚡️Worthy Mentions

• Best Buy launches third-party marketplace, doubling products beyond electronics.

• Meta upgrades scam ad tools to help businesses flag fraud faster.

• eBay builds ‘AI Defensibility’ strategy with stronger community features.

• Instagram tests Picks to connect users through shared interests.

• Amazon expands same-day grocery delivery to 1,000 U.S. cities.

Wrapping up…

Another week, another AI shakeup 🤖. From security risks to brand-new tools, ecommerce is moving fast, and staying informed is how you stay ahead.

This issue’s also packed with practical gems to help you level up your Shopify store. So, take what you’ve learned, put it into action, and keep building 🚀.

What do you say—same time, same place next week? And hey, bring a friend along for the ride.

PS: Don’t just read… subscribe. Hit that button like it owes you money 💸.