Visa CEO says AI shopping agents will reshape advertising and commerce

Visa Inc.’s CEO, Ryan McInerney, believes that artificial intelligence (AI) shopping agents are set to transform how consumers shop and companies advertise. 

These AI agents can browse products, make purchases, and handle payments on behalf of users, streamlining the online shopping experience.​

The AI agents will harness the latest technology introduced by some of the biggest tech companies, such as Visa, which collaborates with Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic to realize this vision. 

Visa’s new system, Visa Intelligent Commerce, will enable consumers to assign an AI agent to perform tasks, like booking a vacation, making a grocery order, or finding a fashionable outfit — and do so within a budget and according to personal tastes.

Jack Forestell, Visa’s Chief Product and Strategy Officer, said that just as the shift from physical to digital retail had accelerated, the transition to digital-first commerce was underway. The pilot program is set to launch this year, with a full rollout expected by 2026.

Changing shopping habits force advertising shifts

Visa CEO Ryan McInerney says AI agents will soon eliminate outdated forms of advertising. Instead of being influenced by flashy banners or social media hype, digital assistants will prioritize data, user behavior, reviews, pricing, and peer preferences to guide purchasing decisions.

With AI in the driver’s seat, businesses can no longer rely solely on polished marketing campaigns to reach consumers. To stay competitive, they must deliver genuine value, meet real needs, and stand out in AI-driven recommendation engines.

Experts say this change will force businesses to provide value and quality rather than compete for attention.

McInerney said on Bloomberg TV that a seismic shift in advertising was coming, predicting it would become more personalized, data-driven, and likely more nuanced.

In other words, AI agents could be the new gatekeepers between brands and buyers. Visa has already spent over $3 billion on AI and data infrastructure in the last 10 years alone,

The company is leveraging AI not just to make shopping better but to make it easier and more secure to pay. Powered by Visa technology, these AI agents can securely and confidentially get access to someone’s payment credentials and make transactions with a provider rapidly and without any inconvenience.

With Visa’s advanced systems, consumers will retain full control—setting purchase limits, approving transactions, and monitoring their spending in real-time.

Outside of the U.S., Visa also considers opportunities in high-growth economies such as India. The company is also negotiating investment with local AI startups to expand its footprint and serve users in other regions better.

Rivals such as Mastercard and PayPal are also moving into AI shopping. However, Visa is betting its partnerships and early investments will give it a solid lead in one of the fastest-evolving areas of payments.

Visa leads the shift to AI-driven commerce

The emergence of AI shopping agents heralds a new era in how people shop and companies sell. Instead of hours of searching online, people will tell an AI what they want, and the agent will handle all the work. It will find the best deals, compare quality, check reviews, and even handle payments.

For customers, it equates to saving time while seeing better results. For brands, that means finding new ways of reaching and retaining customers.

Visa is wagering that AI-enabled commerce will be the next normal. It sets itself up to control the whole process, from discovering products to receiving the payment.

McInerney said that payments were certain to evolve to support these changes and added that Visa was looking forward to the role it would play in making it happen.

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