Visa has launched its new AI-powered initiative, Visa Intelligent Commerce, which it says will reshape how consumers shop and pay by enabling AI agents to browse, select, purchase, and manage transactions on their behalf.

The announcement was made during the Visa Global Product Drop, where the company introduced its latest technology aimed at bringing trust and security to AI-driven commerce.

Visa’s Chief Product and Strategy Officer Jack Forestell explained that the system is designed to handle payments securely in an AI-managed environment.

He said, “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.”

Forestell added that Visa is setting a new standard for the next era of commerce. 

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"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 stated.

"Now, with Visa Intelligent Commerce, AI agents can find, shop and buy for consumers based on their pre-selected preferences. Each consumer sets the limits, and Visa helps manage the rest."

According to Visa, millions of consumers are expected to rely on AI for tasks such as selecting clothing, planning trips, or handling grocery purchases.

The company says its goal is to remove friction from payments, making it possible to transact securely in an AI-driven world.

Visa says it is working alongside AI industry leaders, including Anthropic, IBM, Microsoft, Mistral AI, OpenAI, Perplexity, Samsung, Stripe, and others, to enable personalised and secure AI commerce globally.

“We’re working with companies at the forefront of AI innovation to encourage AI platform participation and support new ways to pay with security and trust as our number one priority," Forestell commented.

"Together with our partners, we fully embrace AI’s potential to transform all aspects of commerce, payments and business."

Visa Intelligent Commerce includes a suite of integrated APIs and a commercial partner programme to help developers deploy AI commerce capabilities securely and at scale.

Among its offerings are AI-Ready Cards, which replace traditional card details with tokenised digital credentials, allowing only authorised AI agents to act on behalf of consumers; AI-Powered Personalisation, which gives consumers control over sharing purchase insights to improve agent recommendations; and Simple and Secure AI Payments, which enable consumers to set spending limits and conditions, with real-time commerce signals shared with Visa to manage transactions and disputes.

Visa highlights that its existing payment technologies, such as tokenisation and authentication APIs, along with over 30 years of experience in managing risk and fraud, will underpin the Visa Intelligent Commerce programme, ensuring transactions remain secure and seamless as AI becomes a bigger part of everyday commerce.