Jack Loughran Thu 1 May 2025
Collected at: https://eandt.theiet.org/2025/05/01/visas-ai-service-let-chatbots-make-purchases-behalf-users
Visa has unveiled a new AI service that lets consumers browse, select and purchase products on their behalf.
The AI agents in its Visa Intelligent Commerce service will be limited to products that have been pre-selected by the consumer, and spending limits can also be imposed.
The card processor is working with AI industry leaders such as Anthropic, IBM, Microsoft, OpenAI and Samsung on the service that will build a picture of a consumer’s spending habits based on prior purchases.
“Soon people will have AI agents browse, select, purchase and manage on their behalf,” said Visa’s chief product officer Jack Forestell. “These agents will need to be trusted with payments, not only by users, but by banks and sellers as well.
“Just like the shift from physical shopping to online, and from online to mobile, Visa is setting a new standard for a new era of commerce.”
Visa’s announcement comes days after its biggest rival, Mastercard, announced its own AI-powered service that uses a chat interface to make purchases.
As an example, the firm said consumers could plan a birthday party with an AI agent that would make suggestions on outfits or venues and then purchase those services directly through the chat itself.
It said various cyber-security measures would be implemented to ensure it cannot be used for fraud, including on-device biometrics and “a process to help clarify agentic transactions that may be unfamiliar or unrecognised”. It is also working with many of the same firms that Visa is collaborating with.
Jorn Lambert, chief product officer at Mastercard, said the launch of Mastercard Agent Pay “marks our initial steps in redefining commerce in the AI era, including new merchant interfaces to distinguish trusted agents from bad actors using agentic technology”.
Meanwhile, Visa has also deepened its use of cryptocurrency this week with the launch of a new ‘stablecoin‘ in six countries, including Mexico and Argentina.
The new product is designed to hedge against volatility in Latin America, and purchases will be automatically converted into local currencies.
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