Use Case Overview
These are not “applications”. They are canonical execution patterns that emerge when agents can act with delegated authority, reason over product state, and trigger settlement tied to verified outcomes.
Each spotlight describes:
- the outcome the market converges on
- the actors that must exist
- the actions agents execute
- the primitives the infrastructure must provide
Why These Five
These five patterns cover the full execution loop of the physical economy:
- Intent becomes a negotiated offer (Discovery)
- Authority becomes a controlled transaction (Payments)
- State change triggers operational routing (Returns/Repair/Refill)
- Verified outcomes trigger settlement, credits, and compliance evidence (Recycling/Compliance)
Together they form a closed loop: products stay economically active, and money moves only when reality is verified.
Agentic Payments & Loyalty
The Outcome
Payments and loyalty converge into a single execution layer: every transaction becomes optimised, policy-bound, and outcome-aware — with incentives applied automatically across both sides of the checkout beep.
Who Participates
- Consumer agent (operating under an explicit mandate)
- Merchant/brand agent (offer + incentives + service terms)
- Payment network / issuer / PSP (tokenisation, authorisation, disputes)
- Loyalty and benefit partners (where applicable)
What the Agents Do
Consumer agents:
- choose the optimal combination of cash, points, credits, benefits, and protections
- enforce user policy automatically (preferred merchants, caps, sustainability preferences, delivery windows)
- propose alternatives that improve value (bundle, substitute, timing, merchant choice)
Merchant/brand agents:
- generate real-time offers inside policy bounds (price, service, incentives)
- attach incentives to lifecycle actions (repair, refill, trade-in, verified recovery)
- manage liability by optimising redemption and reducing unclaimed value intelligently
What the Infrastructure Must Provide
- Payment intents + mandates (limits, approvals, revocation, time windows)
- Tokenised credentials suitable for machine-initiated execution
- Progressive authorisation + settlement semantics (hold/adjust/capture, partial refunds, credits, split payouts)
- Provenance linking incentives and settlement to transactions and lifecycle outcomes
Agentic Discovery & Personalisation
The Outcome
Discovery stops being a funnel. It becomes intent execution: agents compress the search space, negotiate terms, and deliver a short list of high-confidence options — reducing returns and increasing trust.
Who Participates
- Consumer agent
- Merchant/marketplace agent
- Product intelligence services (attributes, compatibility, sizing, substitution)
- Inventory/pricing systems (availability, constraints, reservation rules)
What the Agents Do
Consumer agents:
- translate intent into structured constraints (fit, compatibility, budget, delivery, brand preferences)
- compare and negotiate across merchants (price, delivery, service terms)
- present a small set of options with explicit trade-offs and rationale
Merchant agents:
- publish machine-readable terms (availability, pricing bounds, service policies)
- create personalised offers within policy boundaries
- reserve inventory where appropriate (soft holds with expiry)
What the Infrastructure Must Provide
- Real-time availability, pricing, and terms interfaces
- Product understanding that agents can trust (attributes, compatibility, substitutions)
- Negotiation and reservation primitives governed by policy
- Observability that links “why chosen” to “what happened” (conversion, returns, satisfaction, exceptions)
Returns to Resale Routing
The Outcome
Returns become an optimisation problem, not a cost centre: every item is routed to its best next destination with verified grading, automated logistics, and settlement tied to outcomes.
Who Participates
- Consumer agent
- Retailer returns/OMS systems
- Reverse logistics providers
- Inspection, refurb, and repair partners
- Resale marketplaces / recommerce channels
- Recycling and recovery partners
What the Agents Do
At the moment a return is initiated, agents:
- capture condition signals (photos, diagnostics, usage history where available)
- estimate value and determine disposition options in real time
- issue executable routing instructions (return-to-stock, refurbish, resell, recover)
- coordinate logistics, customer comms, and exception handling automatically
Refurbish
Route to partners with capacity and parts availability; reinstate as certified stock.
Resell
Route to secondary channels with verified grading and structured listings.
Recover
Route end-of-life items into certified recovery streams with evidence capture.
What the Infrastructure Must Provide
- Product identity + lifecycle state (ownership, condition, obligations)
- Condition capture + grading interfaces with provenance
- Value & route decisioning constrained by policy (brand rules, geography, SLAs)
- Outcome-linked settlement (refunds, payouts, holdbacks pending inspection/verification)
Repair & Refill Orchestration
The Outcome
Repair and refill become first-class commerce rails: discoverable, bookable, and executable services that turn product ownership into recurring revenue and operational resilience.
Who Participates
- Consumer agent
- Brand/retailer service systems (eligibility, policies, pricing)
- Repair and refill networks (capacity, parts, SLAs)
- Logistics partners (pickup/drop-off, in-store service)
- Payments + warranty/coverage systems
What the Agents Do
Consumer agents:
- detect service needs (warranty context, diagnostics, time-to-failure signals)
- source the best service option (authorised partner, time, price, proximity, parts)
- book, pay, and coordinate logistics under delegated authority
- manage refills and replenishment dynamically based on real usage
Brand/merchant agents:
- offer proactive service outreach and incentives
- monetise repair/refill as recurring service revenue (not a cost centre)
- capture structured service outcomes to improve future decisioning and routing
Example Flow
Detection
Agent detects degradation and evaluates warranty/coverage + user constraints.
Sourcing
Agent selects an authorised provider based on SLA, parts, price, and location.
Execution
Agent books, pays, coordinates pickup/drop-off, and updates lifecycle state on completion.
Recycling & Compliance Routing
The Outcome
Compliance becomes operational: end-of-life routing is verifiable by default, with chain-of-custody, auditable outcomes, and incentives triggered only when rules are satisfied.
Who Participates
- Consumer or enterprise agent
- Product passport / traceability systems (where available)
- Certified recyclers / recovery partners
- Regulators / standards bodies (requirements, evidence formats)
What the Agents Do
Agents:
- determine composition and handling requirements
- route items to appropriate recovery streams by geography and capability
- generate evidence packs (chain-of-custody, receipts, certificates, outcomes)
- trigger lifecycle-linked credits or incentives when verification succeeds
Textiles
Route by fibre composition and capability, capturing evidence and outcomes.
Electronics
Route WEEE items to certified processors with recovery reporting.
Packaging
Coordinate reuse loops with trackable container identity and return verification.
Evidence & Audit
Maintain verifiable records linking identity, routing decisions, and outcomes.
Getting Started
Each pattern can be piloted independently, but the compounding value comes from connecting them: product identity, mandates, policy, provenance, and outcome-linked settlement become shared rails across the lifecycle.
Start narrow, prove execution, then expand across both sides of the beep.
Pilot a Use Case
Identify the highest-leverage execution pattern for your business and launch a scoped proof of concept.