We are already at a point in time where you can deploy your AI agents to do your shopping for you.
Visa has unveiled Visa Intelligent Commerce, a groundbreaking initiative that will enable AI agents to shop, select and purchase products on behalf of consumers, marking a significant shift in how people discover and buy goods online.
The new platform, announced at Visa’s Global Product Drop last week, will allow consumers to assign AI agents to complete shopping tasks autonomously – from finding products to making secure payments – while operating within user-defined parameters and spending limits.
“Soon people will have AI agents browse, select, purchase and manage on their behalf”
The company is positioning Visa Intelligent Commerce as the next major evolution in shopping technology, comparable to previous shifts from physical to online shopping and from desktop to mobile commerce.
Shopping agents are in the aisle
“Soon people will have AI agents browse, select, purchase and manage on their behalf,” said Visa’s Chief Product and Strategy Officer Jack Forestell. “These agents will need to be trusted with payments, not only by users, but by banks and sellers as well.”
According to Visa, the platform aims to solve common shopping frustrations. Consumers can set parameters for desired items – including specifications like size, colour and price – and allow the AI to handle the search process independently while they focus on other activities.
To ensure security and build trust, Visa is implementing several safeguards:
- Spending caps and transaction approval requirements that ensure AI agents act only within user-defined boundaries
- Opt-in data sharing that allows consumers to provide basic spending insights to enable more personalised recommendations
- Tokenised digital credentials that replace actual card details for enhanced security
Visa CEO Ryan McInerney emphasised the company’s unique position to enable this new commerce model: “As new ways to pay emerge, they need to run on a network that is always on – that is safe, secure, scalable and relentlessly innovating.”
The financial services giant has formed strategic partnerships with leading AI companies including Anthropic, IBM, Microsoft, Mistral AI, OpenAI, Perplexity, Stripe and Samsung to develop the technology. These collaborations aim to make AI-powered commerce accessible at scale while maintaining Visa’s security standards.
Jack Forestell described the initiative as “a transformative change, bringing more magic and convenience to the consumer experience and creating a new world that will forever change how we shop and buy.”
In addition to Visa Intelligent Commerce, the company announced several other innovations including stablecoin-linked card offerings in partnership with Bridge (a Stripe company), expansion of its Flex Credential platform that allows users to toggle between payment methods, and new payment solutions for international markets.
Visa Intelligent Commerce is expected to begin rolling out to consumers next year.
-
Bank of Ireland is welcoming new customers every day – funding investments, working capital and expansions across multiple sectors. To learn more, click here
-
For support in challenging times, click here
-
Listen to the ThinkBusiness Podcast for business insights and inspiration. All episodes are here. You can also listen to the Podcast on:
-
Spotify
-
SoundCloud
-
Apple
