Visa and Mastercard have launched major AI initiatives aimed at transforming how consumers shop online, signaling a pivotal shift in retail tech.
Visa’s “Intelligent Commerce” and Mastercard’s “Agent Pay” go beyond traditional recommendation engines, enabling AI agents to make purchases on users’ behalf.
Visa is teaming up with Anthropic, IBM, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Stripe to build systems where AI agents act on consumer preferences. Mastercard’s Agent Pay, meanwhile, embeds payment tools into conversational AI platforms, creating seamless, voice- or chat-driven shopping experiences.
These moves come as AI adoption in retail accelerates, growing 40% annually with the market expected to surpass $8 billion this year. Nearly 87% of retailers now use AI in customer-facing roles.
Consumers are also shifting: 71% want generative AI in their shopping experience, and 58% already prefer AI tools over traditional search for recommendations. However, trust remains an issue – satisfaction with AI dipped last year amid concerns about privacy and execution, particularly in financial contexts.
Still, the trend is clear. With AI projected to handle 20% of eCommerce tasks and 75% of retailers expecting to adopt AI agents within a year, Visa and Mastercard are positioning themselves as critical infrastructure in the next phase of digital commerce.
