Before the 2024 settlement, listing brokers routinely advertised a shared commission to any buyer's agent through the MLS, and the buyer rarely saw the split. That advertising is what ended. Sellers can still offer buyer-side compensation — many do, because it widens the pool of buyers who can afford to close — but the offer now happens in the negotiation itself, deal by deal, rather than as a standing number on a listing.
Meanwhile, your representation agreement states what your agent is owed. When a seller's concession covers it, you feel nothing at closing, which looks like the old world. When it covers part of it, the remainder is due from you unless your agreement says otherwise. The routing changed from "the seller's side pays" to "your contract decides", and most buyers have not caught up.
Where to look in your own deal
Two places. In your representation agreement: the compensation paragraph, and specifically any sentence about what happens if seller-paid compensation falls short. In your purchase offer: the concession you request from the seller, which your agent writes in — and which you can ask to see stated plainly, since it is your money either way.
The concession is negotiable like everything else in the offer, and a seller weighing two offers reads it as part of the price. That is not a reason to skip it; it is a reason to know the number.