Artificial intelligence is significantly changing traditional shopping and payment methods. Visa and Mastercard are actively integrating AI into commerce, offering new solutions for users.
Visa's Intelligent Commerce Initiative
Visa has announced its 'Intelligent Commerce' initiative aimed at integrating AI into the shopping experience. The core idea is for AI agents to 'find and buy' on behalf of consumers by understanding their preferences and securely completing transactions. According to Jack Forestell, Visa's Chief Product and Strategy Officer, 'each consumer sets the limits, and Visa helps manage the rest.' Visa is collaborating with numerous tech companies such as Anthropic, IBM, and OpenAI, highlighting the potential of AI to reshape digital commerce.
How Mastercard is Advancing Payments with AI
Mastercard has unveiled its 'Agent Pay' offering that enables AI agents to process payments. This integration allows agents to not only provide recommendations but also manage purchases; for instance, curating outfits for events based on various factors. Mastercard is partnering with firms like Microsoft and IBM to scale what they call 'agentic commerce,' further enhancing AI capabilities in payment and shopping.
The Trend of AI Integration in Shopping Among Other Companies
The shift towards AI shopping agents is not exclusive to Visa and Mastercard. Other tech giants such as Amazon, OpenAI, and Google are exploring similar AI capabilities for shopping assistance. Amazon is testing its 'Buy for Me' feature, while OpenAI has enhanced ChatGPT for improved online shopping. These trends indicate that the concept of 'Intelligent Commerce' may soon become a standard part of online interactions.
The introduction of AI into shopping and payments, driven by Visa and Mastercard, represents significant changes in the commercial landscape. This move has the potential to alter business models and the way brands interact with consumers in the future, unlocking new prospects for online transactions.
