(Bloomberg) — Visa Inc. Chief Executive Officer Ryan McInerney said advertising will be forced to evolve as shoppers turn to artificial intelligence agents to help them browse products and make purchases.
The payments company is enabling AI agents to do just that — cutting down the time and energy consumers spend on finding and paying for the ideal item or service online, Visa said in a statement Wednesday. It’s collaborating with Anthropic PBC, Microsoft Corp., OpenAI Inc. and other AI firms on the product launch.
“There’s so much inventory out there, there’s so many places to go buy, and we just don’t have the time to optimize our own shopping experience,” McInerney said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “I think shopping’s going to evolve. I think advertising will have to evolve. We know that payments is going to evolve to enable all of this, and we’re excited about the role that we play in that part of it.”
Technology companies are embracing AI to streamline a myriad of tasks, from conducting online research to booking reservations. The products promise to make people more productive at home and at work, though sometimes they require a fair amount of adult supervision.
Payments rivals Mastercard Inc. and PayPal Holdings Inc. announced similar offerings on Tuesday.
“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,” Jack Forestell, Visa’s chief product and strategy officer, said in the statement. “Each consumer sets the limits, and Visa helps manage the rest.”
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