What happened
The article discusses the rise of AI agents as the primary users of the internet, shifting from human to agent-driven traffic. It highlights that agents now generate over half of new articles and most code, and AI-referred consumer traffic shows higher engagement. Key examples include Shopify's eightfold growth in AI-driven store traffic and orders from AI-powered searches growing nearly thirteenfold. The piece outlines the emerging 'B2A economy' where businesses must treat agents as first-class customers. It identifies agent infrastructure, payments, fraud, and identity as areas under strain. The article also presents a market map of agent-related technologies and argues that enterprises will need to embrace agent traffic despite current blocking due to fraud concerns.
Key facts & figures
- ·AI agents now make up the majority of web traffic and generate more than half of new articles published online.
- ·Shopify reported AI-driven traffic to its stores grew eightfold year over year in Q1 '26, with orders from AI-powered searches growing nearly thirteenfold.
- ·Human Security saw agentic browser traffic grow 8x between August and October, with Muse driving 60% of activity and OpenAI products 30%.
- ·As of September 2026, upwards of 40% of GitHub PRs started with an agent's draft, up from 17% six months prior.
- ·Most enterprises are still blocking agent traffic due to concerns about fraud and chargebacks.
Key questions for investors and operators
When evaluating transactions, technology stacks, or commercial partnerships in this space, we recommend looking closely at three questions:
Companies & platforms involved
Shopify reported AI-driven traffic to its stores grew eightfold year over year in Q1 '26.
Human Security saw agentic browser traffic grow 8x between August and October.
OpenAI's products reached a combined 30% of agentic browser traffic, and it launched Businesses in ChatGPT.
Muse drove the largest share of agentic browser activity at 60%.
GitHub reported that upwards of 40% of PRs started with an agent's draft as of September 2026.