https://stefan-hamann.de/en/articles/Commerce, AI, software and research. Articles by Stefan Hamann.enhttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/what-if-a-team-of-ai-agents-could-help-with-b2b-procurement-2026/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/what-if-a-team-of-ai-agents-could-help-with-b2b-procurement-2026/Mon, 07 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMTAn experiment from the Agentic Commerce Labs: Procurement Swarm brings together Shopware, UCP and autonomous email negotiations in a fully working demo environment.commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/agents-are-becoming-a-buying-surface-the-shop-underneath-has-to-become-an-execution-layer-2026/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/agents-are-becoming-a-buying-surface-the-shop-underneath-has-to-become-an-execution-layer-2026/Fri, 04 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMTShopping is moving into the assistant. When a customer states a goal to an agent instead of clicking through a category tree, the shop has to expose catalog, cart and checkout as callable…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/pawl-the-ratchet-that-keeps-agent-work-honest-2026/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/pawl-the-ratchet-that-keeps-agent-work-honest-2026/Mon, 13 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMTThis morning, our AI agents reported a result we did not want: a promising repair for damaged memory healed 0 of 10 cases. Not five. Not two. Zero.buildinghttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/the-open-weight-inflection-2026/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/the-open-weight-inflection-2026/Tue, 07 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMTFor two years, "open-source AI" carried an implicit asterisk: good enough, if you can't afford the real thing. That asterisk is gone. In the first half of 2026, Chinese labs — Z.ai, DeepSeek,…buildinghttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/what-is-intelligence-really-2026/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/what-is-intelligence-really-2026/Thu, 02 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMTThis article concludes the first chapter of the Physics of Intelligence series. Over the past months I documented the journey from the earliest proof that a continuous field could solve XOR…researchhttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/agentic-commerce-benchmark-open-source-just-pulled-level-with-the-frontier-2026/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/agentic-commerce-benchmark-open-source-just-pulled-level-with-the-frontier-2026/Mon, 29 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMTA year ago, “can an AI build a shop?” was a fair question. Today it’s the wrong one. Every frontier model can emit a plausible product page. What separates them now is whether they can ship…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/topological-fixed-point-theory-2026/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/topological-fixed-point-theory-2026/Sat, 27 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMTI build ecommerce software for a living. So let me get the obvious disclaimer out of the way: this has nothing to do with that. No shops, no checkout, no roadmap.researchhttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/i-stopped-building-pages-and-started-generating-worlds-anatomy-of-the-storefront-that-comes-after-yours-2026/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/i-stopped-building-pages-and-started-generating-worlds-anatomy-of-the-storefront-that-comes-after-yours-2026/Thu, 30 Apr 2026 12:00:00 GMTSome time ago I wrote here that AI is eating e-commerce for breakfast that funnels are collapsing into a half-second LLM thought-chain, that Visa just handed autonomous agents a tokenised Black…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/the-physics-of-intelligence-part-5-when-sudoku-became-a-side-effect-2026/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/the-physics-of-intelligence-part-5-when-sudoku-became-a-side-effect-2026/Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:00:00 GMTIn this series on the Physics of Intelligence, I have been documenting a continuous dynamical field that reasons through geometry and physics rather than through statistical pattern matching.researchhttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/agentic-commerce-is-not-dead-the-discovery-layer-just-moved-2026/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/agentic-commerce-is-not-dead-the-discovery-layer-just-moved-2026/Thu, 12 Mar 2026 12:00:00 GMTOver the past few days, my feed has been full of posts celebrating the "death of Agentic Commerce." The trigger: OpenAI scaled back native Instant Checkout inside ChatGPT, choosing instead to…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/the-physics-of-intelligence-part-4-when-a-field-learns-to-solve-read-and-reason-2026/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/the-physics-of-intelligence-part-4-when-a-field-learns-to-solve-read-and-reason-2026/Tue, 10 Feb 2026 12:00:00 GMTIn this series on the Physics of Intelligence , I have been documenting the journey of an unusual AI architecture: a continuous dynamical field that reasons through geometry and physics rather…researchhttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/topological-fixed-point-theory-an-update-and-why-it-matters-2026/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/topological-fixed-point-theory-an-update-and-why-it-matters-2026/Thu, 29 Jan 2026 12:00:00 GMTWhat if they are the unavoidable outcome of a deeper structural consistency, rather than historical accidents of measurement?researchhttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/commerce-is-quietly-changing-hands-2026/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/commerce-is-quietly-changing-hands-2026/Tue, 20 Jan 2026 12:00:00 GMTWhile companies kept optimizing storefronts, funnels, and campaigns, a different layer of commerce started to take shape in the background. AI agents began to assist with decisions, then to…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/the-physics-of-intelligence-part-3-2025/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/the-physics-of-intelligence-part-3-2025/Wed, 31 Dec 2025 12:00:00 GMTIn this ongoing series on the Physics of Intelligence, I explore an unusual computational system that does not rely on neural networks, training loops, or learned weight matrices, but instead…researchhttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/the-physics-of-intelligence-part-2-what-happens-when-you-try-to-break-a-thinking-field-2025/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/the-physics-of-intelligence-part-2-what-happens-when-you-try-to-break-a-thinking-field-2025/Tue, 09 Dec 2025 12:00:00 GMTA small update from the Agentic Commerce Labs on what survived, what failed and why that is the interesting part.researchhttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/the-physics-of-intelligence-a-system-that-thinks-without-neural-networks-2025/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/the-physics-of-intelligence-a-system-that-thinks-without-neural-networks-2025/Wed, 03 Dec 2025 12:00:00 GMTYesterday, a small prototype of the AI architecture I´m building in the Agentic Commerce Labs , really surprised me!researchhttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/agentic-commerce-2-0-the-next-era-of-commerce-has-begun-2025/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/agentic-commerce-2-0-the-next-era-of-commerce-has-begun-2025/Mon, 03 Nov 2025 12:00:00 GMTSix months can be an eternity – at least in the world of AI-powered commerce. What was vision in May 2025 is becoming reality today.commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/agentic-commerce-now-real-shopware-launches-acp-with-a-live-paypal-prototype-2025/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/agentic-commerce-now-real-shopware-launches-acp-with-a-live-paypal-prototype-2025/Wed, 01 Oct 2025 12:00:00 GMTThe last 48 hours changed commerce. OpenAI and Stripe announced the Agentic Commerce Protocol, the common language that lets AI agents and businesses complete purchases without the old website…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/topological-fixed-point-theory-the-next-chapter-2025/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/topological-fixed-point-theory-the-next-chapter-2025/Wed, 03 Sep 2025 12:00:00 GMTA toy genetic algorithm, run on a whim, converged on two numbers that shouldn’t have meant anything. But they did...researchhttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/agentic-commerce-a-market-reset-beyond-copycat-strategies-2025/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/agentic-commerce-a-market-reset-beyond-copycat-strategies-2025/Mon, 25 Aug 2025 12:00:00 GMTIn over two decades of eCommerce evolution, we’ve seen shifts from desktop to mobile, and from simple online catalogs to immersive experiences. Yet today we stand at the brink of a more radical…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/when-ai-meets-reality-what-anthropic-s-project-vend-teaches-us-about-the-future-of-agentic-commerce-2025/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/when-ai-meets-reality-what-anthropic-s-project-vend-teaches-us-about-the-future-of-agentic-commerce-2025/Thu, 17 Jul 2025 12:00:00 GMTRemember when I wrote that " AI is Eating E-Commerce for Breakfast "? Well, folks, it just ordered seconds – and this time, it's running the kitchen.commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/topological-fixed-point-theory-2025/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/topological-fixed-point-theory-2025/Wed, 09 Jul 2025 12:00:00 GMTWhat started with a toy genetic algorithm ended up with a theory that tries to explain dozens of physical constants from just two numbers . No free parameters. No curve fitting. Just geometry…researchhttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/frontends-that-breathe-a-glimpse-into-intent-aware-commerce-2025/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/frontends-that-breathe-a-glimpse-into-intent-aware-commerce-2025/Tue, 01 Jul 2025 12:00:00 GMTYou land on a storefront looking for a lightweight spring jacket. The grid loads, but as soon as your cursor drifts over linen, the gallery tilts toward earthy tones. Pause at the size guide and…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/software-ate-the-worldnow-agents-are-devouring-e-commerce-2025/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/software-ate-the-worldnow-agents-are-devouring-e-commerce-2025/Mon, 02 Jun 2025 12:00:00 GMTBack in 2011 Marc Andreessen dropped the line that still echoes through boardrooms: “ Software is eating the world. ” Thirteen years later the menu has changed. In my early May-2025 piece, “ AI Is…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/blink-and-its-bought-ai-agents-ignite-the-age-of-agentic-commerce-2025/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/blink-and-its-bought-ai-agents-ignite-the-age-of-agentic-commerce-2025/Mon, 26 May 2025 12:00:00 GMTBlink, and it’s bought. That sci-fi scenario – an AI instantly finding and purchasing what you need – became remarkably real over the past week. In a span of five days, Google demoed a search…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/25-years-of-shopware-building-trust-not-hype-2025/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/25-years-of-shopware-building-trust-not-hype-2025/Tue, 20 May 2025 12:00:00 GMTThis is not your typical founder story. No unicorn pitch decks, no “we were broke, now we fly jets”.perspectiveshttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/when-customers-turn-into-code-the-playbook-for-machine-to-machine-commerce-2025/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/when-customers-turn-into-code-the-playbook-for-machine-to-machine-commerce-2025/Wed, 14 May 2025 12:00:00 GMTSignals are pouring in from every corner of our merchant community. One founder shows me a dashboard where orders from agent driven buyers have doubled week on week for four straight weeks.…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/good-bye-click-path-hello-thought-chain-unlocking-the-upside-of-agentic-commerce-2025-2025/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/good-bye-click-path-hello-thought-chain-unlocking-the-upside-of-agentic-commerce-2025-2025/Fri, 09 May 2025 12:00:00 GMTLast week I argued that the classic e-commerce funnel has been compressed to the length of a coffee blink. ChatGPT’s upgraded search, married to automated agentic payment, can move a shopper from…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/ai-is-eating-e-commerce-for-breakfastagentic-commerce-just-took-the-first-bite-2025/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/ai-is-eating-e-commerce-for-breakfastagentic-commerce-just-took-the-first-bite-2025/Fri, 02 May 2025 12:00:00 GMTPicture your entire funnel—awareness, consideration, checkout—compressed into the half-second “thought-chain” of an LLM. In that blink, ChatGPT now surfaces the top products and Visa’s new…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/when-code-writes-code-a-quiet-revolution-in-ecommerce-engineering-2025/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/when-code-writes-code-a-quiet-revolution-in-ecommerce-engineering-2025/Tue, 29 Apr 2025 12:00:00 GMTBack in March I published an experiment: 140 000 lines of properly-tested code written in 15 days with an LLM “pair-programmer”.(2) How AI-Powered “Vibe Coding” Helped Me Write 140,000+ Lines of…buildinghttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/how-ai-powered-vibe-coding-helped-me-write-140-000-lines-of-deployable-codeand-what-it-means-for-engineering-2025/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/how-ai-powered-vibe-coding-helped-me-write-140-000-lines-of-deployable-codeand-what-it-means-for-engineering-2025/Sun, 30 Mar 2025 12:00:00 GMTI’ll be the first to admit: I didn’t invent the term Vibe Coding. But when I stumbled across this approach to AI-assisted software development, I decided to run a bold, private experiment. The…buildinghttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/agentic-ecommerce-unlocking-next-generation-differentiation-2025/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/agentic-ecommerce-unlocking-next-generation-differentiation-2025/Fri, 17 Jan 2025 12:00:00 GMTOver the past 24 months, Generative AI has catapulted from a curious experiment to a mainstream force, permeating every corner of the tech world. From the early days of GPT-like models that could…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/ai-and-virtual-try-ons-in-fashion-a-deeper-dive-into-the-tech-thats-changing-ecommerce-2025/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/ai-and-virtual-try-ons-in-fashion-a-deeper-dive-into-the-tech-thats-changing-ecommerce-2025/Thu, 02 Jan 2025 12:00:00 GMTI’ve always been that nerd who loves to experiment with cutting-edge tech—whether it’s programming my own software in the early days or staying up way too late tinkering with old computers. So you…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/ai-agents-apis-and-the-great-ecommerce-disruption-why-well-never-have-to-do-manual-updates-again-2024/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/ai-agents-apis-and-the-great-ecommerce-disruption-why-well-never-have-to-do-manual-updates-again-2024/Sat, 21 Dec 2024 12:00:00 GMTLet me take you back to a simpler time—when updating your online shop felt like rummaging through a mountain of floppy disks (I collect old hardware, so I know the struggle). You’d manually code…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/shopware-s-strategic-vision-in-spatial-commerce-and-ai-integration-2024/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/shopware-s-strategic-vision-in-spatial-commerce-and-ai-integration-2024/Mon, 29 Jan 2024 12:00:00 GMTIn the dynamic world of ecommerce, standing still is not an option. Shopware, since its inception, has always strived to be at the forefront of innovation. The last 24 months have been a testament…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/riding-the-ai-tsunami-a-commerce-odyssey-in-the-age-of-machine-minds-2023/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/riding-the-ai-tsunami-a-commerce-odyssey-in-the-age-of-machine-minds-2023/Mon, 20 Nov 2023 12:00:00 GMTIn the vast, uncharted waters of the digital world, a tempest of artificial intelligence is stirring, a phenomenon far removed from the high-drama headlines of tech leadership and corporate…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/embracing-the-quest-for-spatial-commerce-meta-quest-3-and-beyond-2023/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/embracing-the-quest-for-spatial-commerce-meta-quest-3-and-beyond-2023/Thu, 28 Sep 2023 12:00:00 GMT👓🛒 Ah, it's an exciting time to be alive! The world of Mixed Reality (XR) is evolving at warp speed, and we've got front row seats to the show. Just yesterday, Meta announced all the details of…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/the-dawn-of-a-new-multimodal-era-openai-s-chatgpt-levels-up-what-it-means-for-commerce-2023/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/the-dawn-of-a-new-multimodal-era-openai-s-chatgpt-levels-up-what-it-means-for-commerce-2023/Tue, 26 Sep 2023 12:00:00 GMTHello there, future enthusiasts and commerce visionaries! If you’re always tuned into the next big thing in tech, brace yourself . OpenAI's ChatGPT has leapt into the future, like a sports car…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/the-redmond-revelation-unpacking-microsofts-mega-moves-and-how-they-sync-with-shopwares-ai-driven-commerce-symphony-2023/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/the-redmond-revelation-unpacking-microsofts-mega-moves-and-how-they-sync-with-shopwares-ai-driven-commerce-symphony-2023/Fri, 22 Sep 2023 12:00:00 GMTHold onto your coffee mugs, business trailblazers and digital aficionados! Microsoft has unleashed a series of announcements that will make you rethink your work desk, your shopping cart, and…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/steering-commerce-with-efficiency-a-road-trip-with-my-hyundai-i10-2023/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/steering-commerce-with-efficiency-a-road-trip-with-my-hyundai-i10-2023/Fri, 25 Aug 2023 12:00:00 GMTWhy drive the oldest, ugliest car in the company lot? Well, I, the CEO, do it, and it's not just to make everyone else's cars look better! My humble Hyundai i10 is a testament to simplicity and…perspectiveshttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/the-yin-and-yang-of-commerce-when-logic-met-artistry-2023/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/the-yin-and-yang-of-commerce-when-logic-met-artistry-2023/Tue, 22 Aug 2023 12:00:00 GMTImagine if Sherlock Holmes and Leonardo da Vinci teamed up to craft a digital store. Holmes, with his analytical precision, would ensure the backend runs seamlessly, while da Vinci, with his…perspectiveshttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/ai-in-commerce-beyond-the-hype-a-comprehensive-and-enlightening-dive-2023/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/ai-in-commerce-beyond-the-hype-a-comprehensive-and-enlightening-dive-2023/Mon, 14 Aug 2023 12:00:00 GMTGreetings, digital pioneers! 🚀 As we stand on the precipice of a new era, the digital landscape is buzzing with excitement, curiosity, and a hint of trepidation. Artificial Intelligence, once the…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/when-the-professional-network-turns-into-a-hollywood-blockbuster-2023/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/when-the-professional-network-turns-into-a-hollywood-blockbuster-2023/Fri, 11 Aug 2023 12:00:00 GMTEver thought of our social media platforms as blockbuster movies? Instagram's got the glitz of a Hollywood premiere, Facebook feels like a never-ending family movie marathon, Twitter's the…perspectiveshttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/clippy-s-comeback-navigating-the-maze-of-e-commerce-with-microsoft-s-new-ai-powered-shopping-tools-2023/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/clippy-s-comeback-navigating-the-maze-of-e-commerce-with-microsoft-s-new-ai-powered-shopping-tools-2023/Mon, 03 Jul 2023 12:00:00 GMTDo you remember Clippy, the iconic Microsoft Office assistant that everyone thought had been relegated to the annals of history? Well, guess what? Clippy is back! Though this time, he's not here…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/beyond-pixels-unraveling-a-new-era-of-e-commerce-with-virtual-try-ons-2023/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/beyond-pixels-unraveling-a-new-era-of-e-commerce-with-virtual-try-ons-2023/Wed, 21 Jun 2023 12:00:00 GMTImmerse yourself in an alternate reality where online shopping becomes a tangible and relatable experience. Picture this: you've found the perfect, flamboyant Hawaiian shirt online, the one that…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-a-grand-adventure-through-machine-learning-in-software-development-2023/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-a-grand-adventure-through-machine-learning-in-software-development-2023/Tue, 20 Jun 2023 12:00:00 GMTOnce upon a time, on a frosty Christmas Eve in Germany, a young boy was wide awake, eyes sparkling with anticipation. His mind was filled with visions of a Sega Master System, the coveted prize of…buildinghttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/filling-the-ecommerce-innovation-gap-are-we-stuck-in-a-groundhog-day-2023/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/filling-the-ecommerce-innovation-gap-are-we-stuck-in-a-groundhog-day-2023/Fri, 16 Jun 2023 12:00:00 GMT"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Now, I don't know about you, but when I look at the ecommerce industry these days, it feels a bit like we've…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/beyond-personas-the-new-era-of-hyper-personalization-in-ecommerce-2023/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/beyond-personas-the-new-era-of-hyper-personalization-in-ecommerce-2023/Thu, 15 Jun 2023 12:00:00 GMTThe concept of personas - generalized profiles of customer behavior, interests, and demographics - has been the cornerstone of marketing and retail strategies for years. Yet, with the increasing…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/riding-the-ai-wave-don-t-be-the-one-who-thought-the-internet-was-just-a-fad-2023/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/riding-the-ai-wave-don-t-be-the-one-who-thought-the-internet-was-just-a-fad-2023/Wed, 14 Jun 2023 12:00:00 GMTDo you remember the time when we thought smartphones were merely a trend? Or when the notion of streaming movies and shows online was considered a fad? Let's take a stroll down memory lane and…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/leveling-up-e-commerce-the-magic-of-diablo-iv-gamification-and-the-player-within-us-all-2023/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/leveling-up-e-commerce-the-magic-of-diablo-iv-gamification-and-the-player-within-us-all-2023/Tue, 13 Jun 2023 12:00:00 GMTIn the bustling world of digital commerce, it's all too easy to get lost in a sea of similarity. Many online shops seem cut from the same cloth, sticking to tried-and-true models that, while…commercehttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/excavating-innovation-s-legacy-from-a-1950s-german-startup-to-today-s-ai-spatial-computing-revolution-2023/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/excavating-innovation-s-legacy-from-a-1950s-german-startup-to-today-s-ai-spatial-computing-revolution-2023/Fri, 09 Jun 2023 12:00:00 GMTStartups today are often synonymous with Silicon Valley and its sprawling techscape. However, let's rewind the tape of time to the 1950s, to a humble 6-square-meter workshop in Germany. This…perspectiveshttps://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/the-storytelling-game-changer-apple-s-vision-pro-and-the-future-of-immersive-commerce-2023/https://stefan-hamann.de/artikel/the-storytelling-game-changer-apple-s-vision-pro-and-the-future-of-immersive-commerce-2023/Tue, 06 Jun 2023 12:00:00 GMTIsn't it frustrating when you hear about a groundbreaking device like Apple's new Vision Pro, only to learn you can't get it for another six months? Apple, why do you tease us so 😭😅?commerce