• by Danielle Oster , Yesterday

Would you let an automated assistant shop for you?

The Visa Intelligent Commerce platform combines Visa’s established payment network with innovations from partnering tech companies to “bring trust and security to AI-driven commerce,” according to a release announcing the launch.

“Soon people will have AI agents browse, select, purchase and manage on their behalf. These agents will need to be trusted with payments, not only by users, but by banks and sellers as well,” Visa Chief Product and Strategy Officer Jack Forestell said in a statement.

 “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,” he added. “Now, with Visa Intelligent Commerce, AI agents can find, shop and buy for consumers based on their preselected preferences. Each consumer sets the limits, and Visa helps manage the rest.”

Visa believes that “millions” of consumers will soon turn to the use of such predictive large-language models to make purchases online. The company claims it will “remove friction” from the payment part of the process, “making it possible to transact in an AI-driven world in a way that is secure and trusted.”

Visa introduced Visa Intelligent Commerce with a product launch video celebrating the platform’s enabling AI to shop and buy, while reassuring consumers they remain in control. The video demonstrates a number of use cases for individuals and businesses, including being prompted to buy newly available tickets to a soccer match, and a florist receiving an alert about low inventory asking to place an order restocking peony buds.

According to Visa, the company has “more than 30 years of expertise” working with predictive large-language model and machine learning technology in service of “learning to manage risk and fraud to enable safe and secure payment experiences.” It claims the new platform, in partnership with tech companies in the space such as IBM, Microsoft, Mistral AI,  Samsung, and Stripe, will help “enable personalized, secure AI commerce on a global scale.”

Among the offerings Visa Intelligent Commerce is touting at launch are AI-Ready Cards, which replace card details online with tokenized digital credentials for simplified and secured payment processes and identity verification. AI-Powered Personalization, which Visa claims puts consumers in control, allows them to share basic spend and purchase insights to improve agent performance and personalize their shopping recommendations. Visa Intelligent Commerce also allows users to easily set spending limits and other conditions providing clear guidelines for transactions, with transactions shared in real-time with Visa so that the company can effect controls, and help manage any disputes.