Credit card data may be handed over to Visa's AI agents.
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AI personal assistants, the next big thing in tech, are supposed to revolutionize the way we shop and manage tasks. However, so far, they've been lacking in their abilities.
Visa aims to change that by exploiting the power of credit cards. By setting a budget and a few preferences, you could trust these AI agents, like the heirs of ChatGPT and its chatbot brethren, to buy you everything from a sweater to an airline ticket.
"This has the potential to be groundbreaking," remarked Jack Forestell, Visa's chief product and strategy officer, in an interview. "Possibly as transformative as the introduction of e-commerce itself."
Visa is teaming up with some of the leading AI chatbot developers, such as Anthropic, Microsoft, OpenAI, Perplexity, and Mistral, to connect their AI systems to Visa's payments network. They're also joining forces with IBM, online payment company Stripe, and phone-maker Samsung on the initiative, kick-starting pilot projects on Wednesday, with wider adoption expected next year.
San Francisco-based Visa believes that the next-gen shopping assistant could soon become as simple and convenient as our everyday tasks, given that they've been working diligently over the past six months to address technical hurdles standing in the way of widespread consumer usage.
For emerging AI companies, Visa's backing boosts their chances of competing with tech giants like Amazon and Google, which dominate digital commerce. These tech titans are also developing their own AI agents.
While there have been plenty of demonstrations showcasing the prowess of what's known as agentic AI, few have made it into the real world. Most are still refashioned versions of large language models that can write emails, summarize documents, or help with coding. They can scour the internet for shopping suggestions, but it's challenging for them to handle the actual payment stage.
"The initial forms of agent-based commerce have shown promise on the shopping and discovery aspect of the challenge, but they're struggling with payments," Forestell noted. "You get to a point where these agents just hand it back to you and say, 'Go buy it yourself.'"
Visa sees itself as stepping in to ease and secure access to the cash that AI agents need to make purchases. "The payment issue isn't something that the AI platforms can solve on their own," Forestell explained. "Hence, our engagement with them."
This new AI project marks nearly a year since Visa announced major changes to U.S. credit and debit card operations, making physical cards largely obsolete. Consumers are already becoming accustomed to digital payment systems such as Apply Pay, as their phones gradually replace credit cards. A similar validation process for a user's digital credentials would authorize AI agents to work on behalf of the customer, as long as it guarantees all stakeholders that the transactions are legitimate and Visa is handling any disputes.
Forestell emphasized that AI agents aren't poised to replace the entire shopping experience but can aid with tedious errands like groceries, home improvement items, or even Christmas lists, as well as complex tasks like travel bookings. For activities where immersion in choices is key, like luxury shopping, Forestell imagines AI agents operating discreetly in the background.
When it comes to credit card debt, American consumer credit card balances have reached $1.21 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve of New York. Forestell maintains that consumers will exert clear spending limits and conditions on their AI agents, ensuring that they maintain control over their spending. Initially, the AI agents will check back with consumers for approval before making specific transactions. As trust grows, these agents might gain increased autonomy to "spend up to $1,500 on any airline to get me from A to B," Forestell said.
The appeal of the Visa partnership for AI developers like Perplexity lies in the potential for an AI agent to access a wealth of data about a customer's past credit card transactions, with the customer's consent.
"Visa enables a user to consent to share streams of their transaction history with us," said Dmitry Shevelenko, Perplexity's chief business officer. "When we generate a recommendation — for instance, suggesting the best laptops — we would know about other transactions they've made and can use that information to refine our recommendations."
Perplexity's chatbot can already book hotels and make other purchases, but it's still in its infancy when it comes to AI commerce, according to Shevelenko. San Francisco-based Perplexity is among the companies that, along with OpenAI (ChatGPT's parent company), have indicated they might buy Google's internet browser, Chrome, if the U.S. forces a breakup of the tech giant in a pending antitrust case.
- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/visa-aims-to-take-control-of-digital-payments-with-ai-powered-assistant-pay-foward/
- https://www.businessinsider.com/visa-introduces-ai-dependent-shopping-assistant-tech-tarian-2022-10
- https://www.visa.com/about-visa/newsroom/press-releases/2023-press-releases/visa-announces-partnerships-with-ai-companies-to-improve-customer-experience-and-transform-commerce.html
- https://venturebeat.com/2023/02/15/visa-partners-with-ai-companies-to-boost-commerce-capabilities-and-fully-integrate-chatbots-into-payments/
- https://www.klondikeinteractive.com/post/demystifying-tokenized-credentials-for-secure-payments?utm_source=klondike&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=tokenized-credentials
- The introduction of AI personal assistants in tech, such as Perplexity's chatbot, could revolutionize the world of business, particularly personal-finance and shopping, by making transactions more seamless and efficient.
- Visa's partnership with AI companies like Perplexity aims to address the technical hurdles that have been preventing widespread consumer usage of AI agents.
- AI platforms like Perplexity are likely to face competition from tech giants like Amazon and Google, but partnerships with companies like Visa boost their chances of success.
- To ensure the authenticity of transactions and handle disputes, AI agents will need to undergo a validation process similar to a user's digital credentials.
- By allowing AI agents to access a user's past credit card transactions with their consent, companies like Visa can help AI developers refine their recommendations and improve overall service quality.
- The use of AI agents is not expected to replace the entire shopping experience but could aid in managing tasks and making purchases, from simple errands to complex tasks like travel bookings.
- The antitrust case against tech giants like Google could potentially lead to startups like Perplexity acquiring significant assets, such as Google's internet browser, Chrome.
- AI agents, with their potential to provide personalized shopping assistance and financial management, are expected to play a major role in the future of the internet, entertainment, travel, and business domains, individually and collectively reshaping the global landscape of tech and technology-driven services.
