Visa announced on Thursday that it has successfully completed hundreds of transactions as part of a new pilot program for AI-powered commerce, signaling a major push by the payments giant into the emerging realm of automated shopping agents. The initiative, which launched after the company's product event in April, underscores the intense competition across the fintech industry to build tools that allow consumers to delegate purchasing tasks to artificial intelligence.

"This is going to be the year we see an enormous amount of material adoption, and consumers really starting to get comfortable in a bunch of different agentic environments," said Rubail Birwadker, Visa's head of growth products and partnerships, in an interview.

The Rise of the AI Shopper

Visa's move places it alongside rivals like Mastercard, which is testing a feature called Agent Pay, and Amazon, which began trialing a "Buy For Me" service. Partnerships such as the one between PayPal and Perplexity further highlight the industry-wide shift toward integrating AI into the shopping journey. A recent Visa survey found that nearly half of U.S. shoppers are already using AI in some capacity to assist with purchases.

While data from the initial pilot is still limited, Birwadker suggested these tools could be particularly useful for managing routine purchases or high-demand events like securing concert tickets, where speed and automation provide a clear advantage.

Global Expansion on the Horizon

Building on its initial success, Visa plans to launch pilot programs in Asia and Europe next year. The company is actively collaborating with over 20 partners to develop and refine its suite of AI agent tools, aiming to create a more seamless and intelligent e-commerce experience.

The broader transformation suggests that AI is moving beyond a browsing assistant to becoming an active transactional agent, capable of executing purchases on behalf of users. This evolution represents a significant step in the digital transformation of retail and financial services, where convenience and automation are becoming paramount.