From Tool to System: Will AI Serve as the Digital Backbone of E-commerce?

AI has packed its bags and left the desk. It’s heading for the engine room, becoming part of the digital machinery that connects data, processes, and customer experiences in real time. That shift unlocks new levels of efficiency and innovation, but it also raises a question: Will you let the big platforms steer, or build your own AI layer? One you truly own and control?

At first, LLMs were just something we used. Tools that could write, summarize, or generate the occasional image that didn’t look too strange. But the line between using and building on AI is fading fast.

The big platforms are turning language models into orchestrators, not just assistants. They’re becoming the toolbox, not just the tools, which seems to be exactly what OpenAI and Anthropic are aiming for.

Take OpenAI’s Instant Checkout and the new ACP and AP2 protocols. Clear signals that AI is moving closer to the core of ecommerce. Add in third-party apps in ChatGPT, the launch of ChatGPT Atlas, and Anthropic’s deep integration with Microsoft 365, and it’s clear: The platforms want to live inside your daily workflows.

In short, the big platforms are beginning to talk directly to the systems behind the user interface. They can pull data from a CRM, update a product description, or respond to a customer in real time. And now they can even install apps and call them directly — through the assistant or through their own browser in the form of ChatGPT Atlas.

And that’s the real story here. Both OpenAI and Anthropic are positioning their models as operating systems, not chatbots. As Nick Turley from OpenAI put it, that’s exactly the plan.

The ambition mirrors how browsers became our digital home base. The place where everything from email to spreadsheets lives. ChatGPT Atlas could be next: A Conversational Operating System where your everyday work happens in dialogue with AI.

But the big question remains: Is this truly a shift in function or just a change in language?

A new power play between platforms and control

Look closely at the latest moves from OpenAI and Anthropic, and a pattern starts to form. They’re heading down different paths, but chasing the same destination.

Anthropic is going deep-enterprise: Secure, compliant, and built for the boardroom. OpenAI is moving in the opposite direction, out toward the consumer - with browsers, open apps, and shopping features, plus partnerships with Spotify, Booking.com, and Shopify. Sam Altman even wants age verification so ChatGPT can loosen up a little for adult users.

It’s starting to feel like a new version of the old Microsoft–Apple rivalry. Different audiences. Same battlefield. Enterprise vs. Consumer. B2B vs. B2C.

But under the hood, the mission is identical: Become the layer everyone else builds on.

When AI models become the foundation rather than the tool, they turn into part of the digital ecosystem itself. Something neither companies nor consumers can easily sidestep. And for OpenAI and Anthropic, that’s exactly the point.

For e-commerce players, this shift changes the game: AI won’t just enhance the customer journey, it will start directing parts of it. Which means rethinking how you manage data, responsibility, and ownership when intelligence lives in your core architecture.

Because, as always with platform selcetion, convenience comes at a price. The deeper you build into someone else’s infrastructure, the harder it becomes to walk away. Integration gives speed, but it also creates dependency.

Where should ownership sit?

As AI platforms evolve into full-fledged operating systems, companies need to treat them like any other core technology in their stack. The goal is to strike the right balance: extract maximum value from the technology while maintaining control over ownership, security, and data.

At Vertica, we’re genuinely excited about what AI can do for e-commerce. Still, we remain cautious about whether language models can truly become functional operating systems. What we do believe in is their potential to act as value-driving engines across strategy, data, and automation. But as with any technology that gets close to the business core, integration demands thoughtfulness.

That’s why we recommend defining your own framework for AI adoption. While Anthropic’s Skills and OpenAI’s Agent Builder make it possible to link specialized agents into fully automated flows, you’re still tied to Claude or ChatGPT and their limitations.

By contrast, designing your own Mixture of Experts lets you tailor AI to your specific business needs - whether that’s precision, cost, scalability, or data security. It also helps you avoid vendor or model lock-in, where switching platforms becomes almost impossible.

And perhaps most importantly: you ensure that your data, your rules, and your values are respected.

As AI becomes part of your infrastructure, data security and governance won’t just be a responsibility, they’ll be part of your brand. Businesses that demonstrate transparency and control over how AI handles company and customer data will stand stronger with both regulators and the market.

So even as OpenAI, Anthropic, and others race to become the next “operating systems,” it’s crucial that you remain in control. The future of competitiveness won’t just depend on who adopts AI fastest - but on who builds the smartest. Those who design their own AI layer with control, security, and purpose will gain an advantage that’s hard to catch up with.