What does "agent-native commerce engine" mean, and how is it different from "AI bolted on"?

"Agent-native" means AI agents are first-class operators of the commerce engine, not a chat widget pasted onto the side. Okommerce ships pre-sales and after-sales agents (built on the Claude API) that read live product, order, and inventory data directly from the system and can *act*: a pre-sales agent can assemble a full order in a WhatsApp conversation and send a payment link; an after-sales…

"Agent-native" means AI agents are first-class operators of the commerce engine, not a chat widget pasted onto the side. Okommerce ships pre-sales and after-sales agents (built on the Claude API) that read live product, order, and inventory data directly from the system and can *act*: a pre-sales agent can assemble a full order in a WhatsApp conversation and send a payment link; an after-sales agent can pull up an order and start a refund or delivery flow. Because the agents share the same data model and workflows as human staff, a human can monitor any live conversation, join it, take over from the AI, or hand it to another human without losing context. "AI bolted on," by contrast, is a separate chatbot that can only answer FAQs and has no authority to read your catalogue or move an order forward. The difference is *capability and integration*: in Okommerce the AI is wired into the same engine that fulfils, charges, and ships.