In a bold step, eBay has launched its first AI-powered shopping agent, aiming to bring a more personalized and intuitive experience to its users.

The announcement came during the Fortune Brainstorm AI event in London, where eBay’s Chief AI Officer, Nitzan Mekel, unveiled the new tool, designed to help shoppers navigate the platform’s massive and sometimes daunting catalog.

“We’re announcing the launch of our new shopping agent, eBay’s first consumer-facing experience powered by our agentic AI platform,” Mekel told the audience. “The idea is for the UI to act as a companion — integrated and seamless.”

Unlike traditional search tools that rely on exact keywords, eBay’s AI agent is built to understand nuanced shopper intent. It interprets conversational prompts and uses iterative reasoning to guide users toward relevant, often hard-to-find listings. Mekel explains, “Instead of users having to know how to navigate eBay, the agent can do it for them.”

eBay’s confidence in its AI strategy draws from its deep well of historical data and community engagement. “Our advantage is 30 years of data, including expert and enthusiast input in niche categories,” Mekel notes. “We’re always looking for ways to enrich this data … to make the agent more knowledgeable.”