Welcome to the second instalment of our Under the Hood series, our regular deep dive where we unpack one OroCommerce feature or module to explain why we built it and how we recommend manufacturers and distributors use it.
This time, we’re spotlighting one of our most in-demand AI capabilities, AI SmartAgent, publicly released with OroCommerce version 6.1 back in April 2025.
TL;DR for the Busy Ones
OroCommerce AI SmartAgent is a 24/7 extension of your customer service team. It helps your B2B buyers search for products, compare them, calculate pricing based on their specific terms, add items to shopping lists, submit orders, check inventory stock, and order statuses through a simple, natural-language chat.
What sets it apart from other agentic commerce offerings today is that it isn’t a “DIY AI agent” toolkit where you’re stuck building prompts, configuring guardrails, and hoping it doesn’t hallucinate or expose someone else’s personal data. We don’t hand you a toolbox and walk away.
AI SmartAgent is a fully built, secure, production-ready assistant, already integrated into the OroCommerce storefront, respecting backoffice rules and logic. It is maintained by us, and included in the license at no extra cost.
It doesn’t just reduce the workload for your support team. It also speeds up digital adoption among your customers. Instead of learning a new interface or poking around unfamiliar menus, they can simply ask the SmartAgent what they need, just like they would in an email, and get immediate answers or completed actions. That familiarity lowers the barrier to entry and gets more buyers using your digital portal, faster.
What exactly can AI SmartAgent do?
- An AI-powered assistant that lives right in the storefront.
- Helps buyers browse product catalogs, check order status, and handle account tasks.
- Suggests products using existing product relations and backend logic.
- Can compare items side by side and recommend optimal options for the use case.
- Checks product availability and order statuses in real time.
- Drafts and places orders directly from chat.
- Follows strict access controls and built-in guardrails, always showing the personalized prices, discounts, and product visibility for each user.
- Requires no extra setup, integration, or technical know-how to start using.
- Included in your OroCommerce license, no extra fees or token limits
How does it help industrial B2B companies?
- Speeds up customer adoption by letting buyers interact naturally, smoothing their way into new buying portals’ UI.
- Reduces support load with fewer emails and calls, as customers get instant answers from the agent.
- Improves customer satisfaction with 24/7 availability and a faster, more intuitive buying experience.
- Gives manufacturers and distributors a safer and hassle-free path into agentic commerce with clear guardrails, full control, and no need to babysit AI agents themselves.
Market Context: Why It Matters Now
Poor Adoption Is the Roadblock to Digital ROI
Only about a quarter of distributors are very or extremely satisfied with their eCommerce ROI. Even more telling, many are still in the “Nascent” stage, with less than 5% of revenue coming from digital channels.
They have built a website, a cart, and a portal. But the orders are still trickling in through emails, PDFs, rep calls, and the occasional fax. Buyers aren’t willing to change their habits. It never bothered them to send that email, so why should they switch?
And that’s the real reason digital ROI stalls. It’s much less of a technology issue. It’s a behavior issue. You can’t get value from tools your customers won’t touch.
This is exactly where OroCommerce AI SmartAgent steps in.
Instead of waiting for buyers to become “digital natives,” SmartAgent meets them halfway and walks them forward. It suggests, assists, and acts for them, like a digital rep with infinite patience and perfect memory. And in doing so, it solves the very thing holding digital commerce back: adoption.
The Road Ahead for OroCommerce AI SmartAgent
Next, AI SmartAgent is stepping into more complex workflows: quotes, approvals, invoices, and even handwritten POs by integrating with another favorite AI tool of ours, the OroCommerce AI SmartOrder.
And our broader AI roadmap further evolves to deliver the commerce experience that feels less like work for everyone involved. In Q1 2026, the OroCommerce back office users will get their own AI helpers that will completely change their working routines.
