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Key Insights from ZDNET
- The AWS Marketplace is leveraging AI agents to cater to the increasing demand for such technology.
- Marketplaces powered by agents are enhancing support for due diligence and software deployment.
- Human sales teams remain essential for larger enterprise applications.
The AWS Marketplace, recognized as a leading application marketplace for businesses of all sizes, is experiencing significant growth in its offerings of AI agents, in addition to an increase in traditional application options.
According to Matt Yanchyshyn, vice president of AWS Marketplace & Partner Services, the term “AI agents” has escalated from the 64th position in keyword searches within the marketplace last year to now ranking third. The number of agent offerings has surged from approximately 1,000 to over 4,000 this year, contributing to a total of nearly 40,000 applications available.
Related: The adoption of AI agents in business has tripled this year, showcasing measurable returns on investment.
Beyond mere statistics, the influence of AI agents in application marketplaces is profound, particularly as they streamline tasks within the software development lifecycle. These agents are integrated into platforms like AWS, managing essential administrative and due diligence responsibilities involved in software acquisition and deployment.
The global market for agentic procurement software was valued at $1.2 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 24%, potentially reaching nearly $9 billion by 2034, based on projections from Market Intelo.
Reducing IT Overhead through Marketplaces
As stated in the report, “Agentic procurement software utilizes autonomous AI agents to plan, execute, and adapt multi-step procurement tasks without the need for human initiation.” In contrast to traditional procure-to-pay or strategic sourcing tools that automate individual steps within a human-driven process, agentic systems possess the capability to independently qualify vendors, conduct negotiation dialogues, manage budget constraints, and execute contracts comprehensively.
Recently, agent-powered marketplaces have significantly diminished IT overhead by facilitating application discovery, vendor comparison, licensing, entitlement management, auditing, renewals, and various contracting tasks, as noted by Bret Greenstein, chief AI officer at West Monroe Partners.
Also: Learn how to maintain value in an AI agent-driven workplace.
This expansion of marketplace services from the purchasing phase to deployment reflects a shift from smaller applications to larger enterprise solutions. Yanchyshyn mentioned, “We are not only supporting discovery but also deployment,” highlighting a growing trend in due diligence adoption that goes beyond conventional pricing and transaction support.
While the traditional app-store model, characterized by self-service and “click-and-go” experiences, continues to dominate the AWS Marketplace, the introduction of agentic functionalities emphasizes customer success, ensuring effective deployments, private pricing, and assistance with larger deals.
Industry experts agree that the acquisition and deployment of agentic software through agent-powered marketplaces benefit buyers, albeit with some caveats. Shashi Bellamkonda, principal research director at Info-Tech Research Group, mentioned that the ability to initiate searches with natural language descriptions simplifies the process of finding necessary solutions. However, he cautioned that AI agents might explore “less than 70% of available solutions,” a limitation tied to how the models function rather than an issue specific to AWS.
To maximize benefits from agent-powered marketplace searches, Bellamkonda recommends engaging in “more reprompting and adding more details.” He also advises users to critically evaluate the outputs derived from these engagements, treating them as high-quality drafts rather than final decisions and reviewing them from a human perspective.
Also: Discover the three categories of individuals who will thrive in the era of AI agents, according to tech leaders.
However, the automation introduced by these features necessitates heightened governance. Greenstein warned that “as software can be discovered, evaluated, and provisioned more rapidly, enterprises must establish clearer policies concerning approved vendors, security protocols, data access, system architecture, licensing, and agent authority.”
Simultaneously, agent-powered marketplaces are increasingly assisting buyers in locating specific agents. Yanchyshyn noted that customers are progressively seeking particular agents or solutions that facilitate the integration of agents. “Initially, there was a demand for standalone agents, like an Atomic MCP server. Now, users desire agentic capabilities but do not necessarily want a multitude of independent agents. They still prefer Software as a Service (SaaS), but are looking for agentic SaaS that allows for inter-agent communication,” he explained.
Software and SaaS vendors are recognizing the advantages of offering agent-powered discovery and follow-up mechanisms. For instance, CharmHealth has introduced an AI assistant named Ria, designed to assist potential buyers in evaluating their offerings while streamlining the onboarding process.
The Role of Human Representatives Is Not Obsolete
Pramila Srinivasan, CEO of CharmHealth, emphasized the benefits of this approach: “Rather than waiting for a sales representative to arrange a demo, buyers can access the information they need and explore software at their convenience.” She added that Ria can gather and relay higher-quality information to sales professionals, ensuring that by the time a prospective customer interacts with a salesperson, they have a clearer understanding of their needs, prior explorations, and any questions they may have.
Also: The rise of the autonomous business—why this trend is promising for professionals.
Yanchyshyn from AWS also foresees a continued need for human sales representatives and engineers, indicating that while medium to lower-level transactions are being increasingly automated, the marketplace functions as a solution-matching engine. “However, more complex deals that involve customer configurations and custom pricing will still require a skilled sales team and procurement counterpart,” he stated.
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