Agentic Commerce Is Here: What Does It Mean for Your Organization?

The era of agentic commerce is upon us. The world’s largest payment networks, Visa and Mastercard, have just unveiled groundbreaking initiatives that enable AI agents to not only recommend products, but to actually shop and pay on behalf of users. This leap-known as agentic commerce-will fundamentally change how consumers buy and how organizations must operate.

What Is Agentic Commerce?

Agentic commerce is the next evolution in digital shopping, where AI-powered agents autonomously search, select, and complete purchases for users. Unlike traditional e-commerce, where humans drive every step, agentic commerce empowers intelligent software to handle the entire transaction journey-from discovery to payment-based on user-defined preferences and spending limits.

Visa and Mastercard: Ushering in the Age of Autonomous Shopping

As of today, both Visa and Mastercard have launched major programs to make agentic commerce a reality:

• Visa’s “Intelligent Commerce”: Visa has introduced a suite of APIs and tools that allow AI agents-developed in partnership with companies like Anthropic and OpenAI-to securely transact using Visa credentials at participating merchants. Consumers can set spending limits and preferences, and AI agents can then browse, select, purchase, and manage orders on their behalf. Visa’s system uses “AI-Ready Cards,” which replace sensitive card details with tokenized digital credentials, enhancing security and giving users full control over their AI agents’ actions.
• Mastercard’s “Agent Pay”: Mastercard’s new program embeds payment capabilities directly into AI-powered conversations. Through partnerships with Microsoft and other tech leaders, Agent Pay enables AI agents to make purchases based on user instructions and preferences, using advanced tokenization for security. Consumers can chat with an AI to plan an event or shop for products, and the agent can complete the entire purchase process, recommending the best payment method and ensuring secure, transparent transactions.

These initiatives mark a shift from frictionless payments to truly autonomous commerce, where AI agents act as trusted intermediaries between consumers and merchants.

PayPal’s Vision for Agentic Commerce: Tools, Partnerships, and Trust

PayPal is positioning itself as a leader in the agentic commerce revolution by empowering developers and merchants with cutting-edge AI tools. At its 2025 Dev Days event, the company unveiled the PayPal Agent Toolkit and the Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server, enabling seamless integration of AI agents into commerce workflows. These tools allow developers to build autonomous systems that handle payments, track shipments, and resolve disputes, all while reducing coding complexity through natural language prompts and modular APIs. For example, a small business can use AWS’s Nova AI models to digitize physical products into shoppable storefronts, while leveraging PayPal’s infrastructure for secure checkout—a process demonstrated in collaboration with Amazon Web Services.

Crucially, PayPal’s strategy hinges on partnerships with AI giants like Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Anthropic. Google’s Agent-to-Agent (A2A) Protocol enables AI shopping companions to negotiate purchases on behalf of users, while Azure AI powers personalized product discovery through PayPal’s unified commerce platform 179. Trust remains central to this vision: PayPal’s global network of 436 million active accounts and its one-time password (OTP) verification system ensure secure transactions, reducing fraud risks as agents autonomously execute purchases.

Strategic Impact: From Payments to Autonomous Commerce Ecosystems

PayPal’s pivot to agentic commerce aligns with its broader focus on value-added services (VAS), which saw a 17% revenue surge in Q1 2025 to $775 million. By transitioning from a payments processor to an AI-driven commerce platform, PayPal aims to monetize higher-margin services like AI-powered fraud detection and personalized checkout experiences. For instance, its Fraud Protection Advanced tool uses machine learning to reduce merchant risk, while optimized debit routing lowers transaction fees—key drivers of its VAS growth. As CEO Alex Chriss noted, this shift transforms PayPal into a “commerce platform” where AI agents act as both buyers and sellers, redefining convenience and efficiency in retail

Why Does This Matter for Your Organization?

1. Digital Visibility and Data Readiness

AI agents rely on structured, machine-readable data to discover and evaluate products. If your product information isn’t optimized for AI, your offerings may be invisible to these new digital shoppers.

Action:

• Audit and enhance your product data for compatibility with agentic platforms.
• Ensure rich metadata, accurate inventory, and clear pricing are available for AI consumption.

2. Seamless Integration and Automation

Agentic commerce requires seamless backend integration. Outdated or siloed systems will struggle to keep up with the speed and expectations of AI-driven transactions.

Action:

• Upgrade order management, inventory, and customer support systems to integrate with agentic commerce APIs.
• Explore partnerships with AI and payment technology providers.

3. Rethinking Pricing, Loyalty, and Customer Experience

AI agents optimize for the user’s objectives-price, speed, quality-rather than brand loyalty or emotional appeal. Traditional marketing and loyalty strategies may lose effectiveness.

Action:

• Innovate pricing, bundling, and loyalty programs to appeal to both human and AI decision-makers.
• Focus on objective value and transparency to remain competitive.

4. Security, Trust, and Compliance

With AI agents handling payments, robust security and clear user controls are essential. Visa and Mastercard’s tokenization and verification frameworks set new standards, but organizations must also ensure their own compliance and data protection.

Action:

• Implement strong authentication, fraud detection, and dispute resolution processes for agentic transactions.
• Stay updated on evolving regulatory requirements for AI-driven commerce.

5. Workforce and Change Management

Agentic commerce will change roles and workflows. Employees will need to collaborate with AI, monitor agent performance, and focus on higher-value tasks.

Action:

• Upskill teams on AI tools and agentic commerce platforms.
• Redefine roles to leverage human creativity alongside automation.

The Road Ahead: Challenges and Opportunities

Agentic commerce is not a distant vision-it’s being rolled out now by the largest players in payments. Early adopters will gain a significant edge, but the transition requires investment in technology, data, and people.

Key challenges include:

• Ensuring your products are discoverable and purchasable by AI agents
• Adapting to new buying behaviors and decision criteria
• Maintaining security and trust in automated transactions

Opportunities abound for those who prepare:

• Streamlined operations and reduced costs
• Deeper customer insights and engagement
• New business models and revenue streams

Conclusion

Agentic commerce is here, and it’s already reshaping the landscape of digital transactions. Visa’s Intelligent Commerce and Mastercard’s Agent Pay are setting the stage for a future where AI agents handle shopping and payments seamlessly, securely, and autonomously. Organizations that act now-optimizing data, upgrading systems, and embracing new strategies-will be best positioned to thrive in this new era.

Is your organization ready for agentic commerce? The future of shopping is autonomous, intelligent, and happening today. Don’t get left behind.

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