The age of agentic commerce is here
Imagine a world where your AI assistant books your business trip, orders your morning coffee, and renews your subscriptions—without you lifting a finger. This isn’t a futuristic fantasy. It’s happening now and the growth could rival what we’ve seen with eCommerce and mobile commerce in the past.
If you’ve ever asked an AI assistant to help you find the perfect pair of running shoes or plan a weekend getaway, you’ve already experienced the early stages of agentic commerce. There are already over 1B users of tools like Perplexity and ChatGPT to streamline search and discovery, and these assistants are getting better at understanding your preferences, comparing prices, and even “window shopping”.
But when it comes to actually making the purchase, they hit a wall. That’s because most AI agents today cannot complete the transaction, they are missing the ability to pay —no payment credentials, no authentication or authorisation tools, no trust framework.
That’s the gap Visa is closing.
Why it matters
In 2024 there was a lift in the volume of internet traffic from Generative AI platforms to digital storefronts of over 4700%i. By 2028, Visa projects that 25% of all digital storefront interactions will be initiated by AI agents. This shift presents both a challenge and an opportunity: how do we bring all players in the ecosystem together and ensure these transactions are secure, seamless, and trusted?
Enter Visa Intelligent Commerce – we’re putting trust at the heart of how Agents can buy with AI, using the same trusted way to pay with Visa across three fronts:
- AI ready technology: tokens, cards
- Consumer control: Payment signals, instructions, consent frameworks
- Visa-grade security: Biometric authentication, and the same level of security and protections as with any Visa transaction
What is Visa Intelligent Commerce?
Visa Intelligent Commerce brings a programmatic way to introduce Agents into the payment ecosystem, providing them with an innovative suite of AI-first payment tools that have been designed specifically for them. These services enable Agents to deliver personalised recommendations and make secure, seamless purchases on behalf of the user.
Leveraging cutting-edge technology like AI-ready payment credentials, tokenisation, advanced authentication and fraud management, this pioneering initiative positions Visa at the forefront of agentic commerce.
How it works: Visa Intelligent Commerce
At the heart of Visa Intelligent Commerce is our trusted payment infrastructure and globally interoperable standards that have ushered in new eras of digital commerce over the last 70 years. This is how we will bring AI Agents into the payment ecosystem with trust, transparency and security. Here’s how it operates:
- AI-ready credentials: Provisioning and lifecycle management of agent-specific payment tokens allow agents to make secure transactions on behalf of the user without exposing sensitive card information while maintaining the merchant-to-user relationship.
- Intelligent personalisation: AI-powered algorithms analyse consumer preferences, historical data, and contextual signals to deliver tailored recommendations and anticipate purchasing needs.
Secure autonomous payments: Enhanced data controls and security measures—including agent-driven payment instructions and signals—protect users and merchants, creating a seamless trust-based shopping environment before, during, and after the transaction.
Building trust in agentic commerce
Trust is the cornerstone of agentic commerce. Visa Intelligent Commerce prioritises trust by embedding robust security, privacy, and control mechanisms:
- Tokenisation: Protects sensitive data by replacing card details with secure agent-specific tokens.
- Visa Payment Passkey: Biometric authentication for both humans and agents.
- Payment instructions and signals: Transparent controls allow consumers full visibility and authority over AI agent spending, while AI-powered fraud prevention continuously assesses transaction authenticity.
- Consent frameworks: Ensures users remain in control of their data and decisions.
Real-world applications and use cases
Visa Intelligent Commerce is ready to power real-world use cases:
- Travel planning: An AI assistant books flights, hotels, and activities tailored perfectly to your preferences—without you lifting a finger.
- Personalised retail experiences: Get specific recommendations built for your tastes, preferences, and transaction history, be it a bespoke travel itinerary or a weekend get-together with the family.
- Smart home automation: Imagine your refrigerator autonomously reordering groceries when supplies run low.
The future is already here
Agentic commerce isn’t just coming. It’s here. Visa Intelligent Commerce is the bridge between today’s payment rails and tomorrow’s intelligent agents.
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i Generative AI-Powered Shopping Rises with Traffic to U.S. Retail Sites