AI Startup’s Digital Storefronts Prepare Brands for AI Economy

As e-commerce continues to evolve, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into brand strategies has become crucial. New Generation, a San Francisco-based startup, is at the forefront of this shift, providing brands with AI storefronts designed to cater to an increasingly digital-savvy audience.

Founded by Harvard Business School graduates Jonathan Arena and Adam Behrens, New Gen aims to reshape how brands interact with customers by offering personalized, dynamic experiences through AI-driven storefronts. These storefronts allow brands to serve AI chatbots and agents via dedicated subdomains, ensuring they remain relevant in a rapidly changing landscape.

AI Storefronts: A Necessity in the Digital Age

Recent studies show that consumers are increasingly turning to AI chatbots for their shopping needs. These AI-driven assistants facilitate a seamless shopping experience, from answering questions to guiding purchases without human intervention. As a result, traditional brand websites risk becoming obsolete if they don’t adapt.

As Arena aptly stated, “Every technology wave has required a new commerce layer to be developed.” With the early internet, PayPal emerged, followed by Stripe in the 2010s. Arena and Behrens believe the same evolution is necessary for the AI economy, where a new payment and commerce infrastructure is crucial to meet modern consumer demands.

The AI storefront addresses two major challenges faced by traditional retail websites. First, many brands still utilize outdated product management systems dependent on manual tagging. This method is not only inefficient but also hampers the potential of AI in automating tasks. For example, if someone searches for “Taylor Swift lipstick,” the system must manually tag that phrase to relevant products. New Gen’s technology automates this process, significantly improving efficiency.

Second, the shift from keyword-based searches to more conversational AI-driven interactions poses another obstacle. While platforms like ChatGPT are gaining traction, retail websites still struggle with outdated search functionalities that don’t accommodate conversational queries. New Gen’s AI storefront aims to revolutionize search capabilities, allowing for a much richer, more dynamic engagement that will keep pace with consumer expectations.

An Innovative Partnership with Visa

New Gen’s groundbreaking approach has garnered attention, especially with its partnership with Visa under the Intelligent Commerce initiative. This collaboration aims to facilitate AI agents that can autonomously handle transactions on behalf of consumers. The startup is also piloting the use of its technology with several major global brands in sectors like retail, fashion, travel, and dining.

While truly autonomous AI agents may be a ways off, this partnership lays the groundwork for what the future of commerce could look like. According to a recent PYMNTS Intelligence report, many current generative AI deployments still require human oversight to ensure that processes remain accurate and efficient. As the technology continues to advance, laying the foundation for agentic commerce is essential.

A Three-Way Conversation

As strategic partnerships evolve, Arena highlights the importance of a collaborative dialogue among three key players—the payment networks, the brands, and the technology providers. He explains that for a truly agent-driven commerce experience to materialize, a robust infrastructure must be set in place.

Brands today often struggle to create web experiences that are compatible with AI agents. Traditional websites frequently frustrate AI attempts to navigate their platforms due to pop-ups, poor search functionalities, and complex checkout processes. As a result, New Gen aims to provide brands with an AI subdomain, a dedicated microsite that seamlessly accommodates AI-driven traffic.

This unique approach allows brands to retain their existing websites while introducing an entirely new, responsive interface that works instantaneously. The AI storefronts generate personalized experiences in real-time, optimizing how customers interact with brands.

The Technology Behind AI Storefronts

At its core, New Gen’s solution involves reindexing a brand’s entire product catalog and leveraging both structured and unstructured data to create dynamic product pages and recommendations. This data pipeline, accessible through an API, makes it easier for brands to adapt to real-time market trends or emerging consumer interests.

For image generation, New Gen employs cutting-edge models like Gemini 2.5, while it relies on Anthropic’s Claude 4 for text generation. OpenAI’s models are used for code and front-end generation, ensuring that all aspects of the AI storefront are finely tuned and capable of generating quick, valuable responses.

As brands seek to innovate, they will have complete control over the customer experience via a merchant dashboard. This interface allows them to set preferences related to tone of voice, featured products, and seasonal merchandising strategies. The goal is to create an adaptable, user-friendly experience that complements ongoing brand marketing efforts.

Looking Ahead

The intersection of AI and e-commerce is ushering in a new era, and companies like New Gen are leading the charge. As more brands recognize the necessity of adapting to this AI economy, the potential benefits—enhanced personalization, improved efficiency, and new sales channels—become increasingly evident.

The future of commerce lies not just in technology but in the way businesses can leverage that technology to serve customers better. By preparing for an AI-driven landscape, brands can not only survive but thrive. As the digital economy continues to evolve, those that embrace change will emerge as leaders in this new frontier.

In conclusion, the rise of AI storefronts is poised to significantly disrupt traditional e-commerce models, paving the way for increasingly sophisticated consumer interactions. New Generation stands at this intersection, creating robust solutions that prepare both brands and consumers for what the future holds in an ever-evolving digital landscape.

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