According to ABI Research, it's An Open and Shut Case -- "When the US Congressional Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual property invited testimony from four industry experts, they were considering nothing less than the future of digital rights management in the United States. At issue are proprietary versus open digital rights management (DRM) technologies, and whether governments should get involved. Advocates say that open DRM standards would help the portable industry. Most industry leaders are adopting a government hands off attitude, but ABI believes that other attempts at proprietary DRM schemes probably wouldn't succeed. Apple was the first to offer such a service and the content industry didn't care if their DRM was proprietary. But DRM becomes critical once video, and sharing between STBs and portable devices, become a reality."
For decades, the story of digital commerce has been one of incremental improvement: better search, faster checkout, smarter recommendations. But something more fundamental is now underway. The emergence of agentic commerce, in which AI agents autonomously search, evaluate, and execute purchases on behalf of buyers, represents a genuine architectural shift in how commerce operates. Whether it becomes the revolution its proponents promise, or another technology that peaks at interesting pilot project, will depend on how effectively the AI industry addresses the structural challenges it faces. Agentic Commerce Market Development Agentic commerce involves deploying AI agents to handle the full purchasing cycle. Rather than browsing a website and entering card details yourself, you grant an AI agent the authority to act on your behalf, within defined parameters. The agent handles product discovery, comparison, negotiation, and payment execution. It draws on your procurement preferences, pur...