Amazon has become the latest company to promise a world in which AI agents complete multi-step workflows for you. This is the flavor of AI known as agentic, and it holds the most potential for resource-constrained SMB, as shown by companies in the Localogyverse such as vcita (more on that in a bit).
Amazon’s agentic play focuses specifically on its third-party sellers, also known as FBAs (short for “fulfilled by Amazon”). Because this role requires lots of manual and administrative rigor, Amazon is hoping that automating workflows will attract and retain more FBAs to its marketplace.
Specifically, Amazon’s AI agents will offload some seller functions and tasks, such as responding to customer questions about a product. It can also advise on more strategic levels, such as monitoring inventory levels against sales momentum to suggest ordering schedules that minimize inventory costs.
It can also proactively alert sellers to potential issues that could be costly if not caught early. One example Amazon provided was alerting sellers if one of their listings violates new product safety regulations, or if a given product deviates from compliance in a given geography where they sell.
Ample Optionality
Altogether, these functions make Amazon’s agentic AI more of a strategic partner than a low-level task engine. The latter is what is often envisioned and discussed when the topic of AI for SMBs comes up. But the former could be more valuable in helping time-starved proprietors see around corners.
Amazon’s range of AI functions is also meant to appeal to various personas. In other words, it wants sellers to step into AI at a pace they’re comfortable with. On the conservative end, that includes more manual oversight. And on the adoptive end, that includes more “set it and forget it” approaches.
That brings us back to vcita. It was not only the first company that we saw driving towards Agentic AI for SMBs, but it likewise espouses ample optionality. A longstanding challenge of the SMB sector is that it’s made up of a fragmented mix of verticals and personas. So optionality is the name of the game.
More accurately, it’s about balance. Software needs to be finely tuned and focused in terms of a value proposition… while also offering different speeds. This principle has always been a universal truth in SMB SaaS but is heightened in the AI era, given varying attitudes and aptitude levels around AI.
Logical Step
Back to Amazon, the move towards Agentic AI is a logical step. It taps into a key demand signal among SMBs, which is to reduce headaches through automation, and let them scale their time. According to our survey data, this is at the top of the list of value propositions at the intersection of AI and SMBs.
In fact, this move is aligned with the very spirit of Amazon’s third-party seller marketplace. Though it takes a healthy cut of sellers’ revenue, its value proposition from the beginning is to let it apply all its logistical systems and customer acquisition, thus freeing up merchants to just create and ship.
With that baseline in its marketplace, Amazon has validated that alleviating headaches is a motivating factor for its merchants. An agentic AI play doubles down on that value proposition for sellers. And unlike the core offering of simply being an FBA seller, this agentic development won’t cost them anything.
For now, these agentic functions appear to be offered as a free bonus for being an Amazon seller. And Amazon won’t likely stop there. The functionality itself will likely expand into various parts of the e-commerce and shipping/logistics process. We’ll be on the lookout for where it expands next.
