AI Agents Are Coming — Will They Choose Your Business?
Victoria Folbigg
CEO & Board Advisor | Procurement Strategy Leader I Sustainability Educator | Co-Chair SPP Human Rights Chapter I Host: Ethical Procurement Edge Podcast
What SMEs, boutique firms, and startups need to know as AI reshapes how customers and procurement teams select suppliers.
The next customer who shortlists your business might not be human. AI agents are moving from search helpers to decision-makers — and this shift matters just as much for B2B as it does for B2C.
Over the past weeks, OpenAI and Google have showcased demos of AI agents that can book hotels, buy shoes, pick gifts, plan dates, and even help fix a bicycle.
At first glance, these demos feel like tech novelties — clever, helpful, maybe even entertaining. But when you take a step back, the bigger shift comes into focus: AI agents are no longer just helping humans make choices — they are starting to make the choices themselves.
And this matters far beyond consumers.
As individuals outsource tedious tasks like comparing fees or finding the best deal, procurement teams in B2B settings will increasingly outsource tail-spend due diligence, supplier screening, and even basic negotiations to AI agents.
The same shift applies across sectors: whether you’re a niche retailer, boutique advisor, ethical brand, IT startup, or specialist supplier, the way you show up online will increasingly determine whether you are even in the running when an AI agent goes looking for the best fit.
Because here’s the kicker: AI agents can process vast amounts of data at speed. They don’t just pull from page 1 of Google — they scan everything they can get their digital hands on. But no one will publish a rulebook on how they select. As people like Olly Richards have pointed out, agents will likely favour “reputable” suppliers — which, practically speaking, means those with:
A clear, structured online presence
Up-to-date website with hours, FAQs, offers
Mobile-friendly and well-organised layout
Structured data (schema) that makes the site machine-readable
Solid SEO and discoverability
Google ranking, local listings, and consistent name-address-phone across platforms
A strong reputation
Positive, recent customer reviews
Responsiveness to customer feedback
Good visuals and clear product/service descriptions
High-quality images, up-to-date inventory
Videos or demos, especially in sectors where agents use multimodal inputs
Trust markers and certifications
Verified listings, clear policies, certifications, awards (e.g., B Corp, ISO, Fair Trade)
These third-party credentials act as machine-readable trust signals, strengthening your reputation in both B2C and B2B spaces, especially as procurement agents start filtering for ESG and operational reliability
Fast, accessible communication
Online booking, live chat, WhatsApp, clear email/phone contacts
Social media presence to amplify brand signals
What many small or niche businesses might overlook is that it’s no longer just about looking good to human eyes. It’s about being alert to your smart digital footprint — making sure you are visible, credible, and data-rich enough for AI agents to surface you as an option. That could even include:
Operational signals (e.g., reliable delivery times)
API accessibility (for bookings or transactions)
Mentions in reputable media or networks
This doesn’t mean panicking, throwing out your marketing plan, or doubling your budget overnight. But it does mean asking yourself:
How ready is my business to be found, evaluated, and selected by an AI agent — not just a human customer? ( I'm personally still working on this one)
What would it take to pivot toward this emerging selection process?
Who can I talk to — peers, advisors, networks — to exchange ideas and figure out what steps make sense for my business?
I’m curious — what are others seeing? Are you already preparing your business for this shift? Are you worried, curious, or quietly optimistic? Let’s hear it.
Strategic Procurement Advisor
1moVictoria Folbigg There's a balance to be had (as I always say, everything in moderation, especially since I have a sweet tooth). The danger is we can get too excited and get carried away. We need to make sure the agent is not executing without oversight in the early stages. It needs to "learn" and "mature" before we let it loose autonomously. Agents (and all aspects of AI) are incredibly useful and should be leveraged. But let's be prudent in scaling up.
Founding Partner
2moThank you for the tag Victoria Folbigg, interesting article and very relevant. I would suggest if this is the way Procurement is moving then does this further the need for stronger business engagement and supplier engagement. Strategic influence than purely tactical selection process.
Watching the world navigate this all is fascinating. Really insightful - thanks Victoria!
sounds like a fascinating shift, victoria. small businesses need to rethink their online presence for sure. what kind of strategies do you think will work best for them?
Co-Founder @ Elm AI | AI, Impact, Supply Chains | Cornell
2moThanks for the tag, Victoria, and insightful points, Kenny! Agree there’s a lot of early-stage noise around AI agents - many solutions today risk prioritizing superficial optimization over genuine value. At Elm AI, we’re proactively navigating these challenges by carefully structuring our AI workflows to complement, not replace, human expertise. For example, rather than automating judgment calls, our AI helps procurement teams by autonomously collecting, cross-verifying, and organizing compliance documentation - freeing people to focus on critical strategic decisions, relationship-building, and capacity-building tasks that AI shouldn’t handle alone. Kenny Fraser your caution about overly rigid rule books resonates strongly. The real opportunity in procurement AI might be developing smart, flexible guardrails that guide agent performance without stifling necessary human judgment. We’re finding that a balanced approach that combines responsible automation, transparency, and thoughtful human oversight—creates lasting value without unintended pitfalls. It’s an exciting (and challenging!) space, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the market evolves.