For more than two decades, the internet followed a predictable logic. If you wanted to buy something, you typed into Google’s search box, or you browsed Amazon’s marketplace. Google captured intent and sold it to advertisers as clicks. Amazon captured interest and sold it back as digital shelf space. Between those two poles, the consumer journey unfolded: from search to click, from website to cart, from cart to checkout.
That system is now breaking apart with OpenAI, Google, Perplexity launching agentic protocols for shopping. Together, these moves point to a new architecture of the internet: from chat to checkout but the implications go far beyond shopping. They mark a structural shift in how value is created, captured, and distributed online and most importantly how brands are built.