AI Shopping with integrated payments – that are secure – that’s Mastercard’s vision

Search isn’t the only online battleground being taken over by AI systems like Google Gemini, OpenAI’s ChatGPT and others like Perplexity – Shopping is also on the radar. Last year we saw AI shopping plans from Google and ChatGPT but the unanswered question was just how to make it secure.

I for one wouldn’t be keen to hand over my credit card number to ChatGPT – I love it, but – yeah nah.

So if we want to be able to say “I need tickets to see a movie” and have an AI ask a few questions and not only find the seats but buy them – how can that be safe, how can we be sure that AI agent isn’t just out there buying too many tickets, tickets to too many or the wrong sessions, or just spending randomly?

And how can merchants (the shops) be sure that you really are making the transaction – if not they will flag all these AI agents as risky and thus knock back any purchases.

That’s where Mastercard’s new Agent Pay system comes in.

Linked in with their existing Click to Pay system, Agent Pay – if integrated into the AI, can ensure that you are really the shopper, that you really want to make the purchase, and can help you do that with a few clicks and taps, but without handing over any actual payment information.

It’s “simple” really – and we know Mastercard is working with all the big AI companies – Google, OpenAI and Perplexity among them – so there’s some hope for a safe and smart e-commerce future!