Visa partners with AI developers to transform shopping with intelligent agents

In recent months, Visa has initiated a collaboration with several leading artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot developers to integrate their AI systems with its payments network. The partnership includes prominent U.S. companies such as Anthropic, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Perplexity, as well as France’s Mistral. This initiative aims to create AI 'agents' that can make purchases on behalf of customers, including items like groceries, clothing, and airline tickets. The pilot projects started recently, with broader deployment anticipated in the following year. The envisioned AI agents are designed to exceed the capabilities of traditional chatbots by performing real shopping transactions. Users can define parameters such as budgets and preferences, allowing these agents to identify suitable products. However, the project faces challenges, specifically regarding the payment process, as most AI systems are currently unable to facilitate transactions independently. Eric Forestell from Visa highlighted that AI systems are generally effective at recommending products but struggle to complete purchases, often reverting the final decision back to the user. Visa intends to play a crucial role in resolving these payment issues, offering AI agents reliable and efficient access to the necessary funds to execute purchases. Forestell expressed that ensuring trust among buyers, banks, and merchants is vital before AI agents can function effectively. This includes processes for verifying the digital credentials needed for AI agents to operate on a user's behalf within legitimate transaction parameters. There will also be situations where customers prefer hands-on involvement, particularly with luxury items, while still seeking the support of AI technology. Furthermore, the partnership between Visa and the AI developers opens up opportunities for more personalized shopping experiences. With user consent, AI agents can access extensive data related to users' past transactions, enabling even more tailored recommendations. For example, if a user seeks the best laptops, the AI could analyze their transaction history to suggest items based on prior purchases. Although still in the early stages, the interaction of AI agents with Visa's payment processing system could fundamentally alter consumer shopping behavior, resembling the impactful changes brought by e-commerce in the past.