Byte-Sized AI: Visa and Mastercard Link With AI Giants on Promise of Agentic

Byte-Sized AI is a twice-a-month segment that explores everything related to it artificial intelligence -from startup financing, along with recently signed alliances, to new AI-driven features rolled out by key stores and software suppliers, supply chain players.

Mastercard and Visa announce collaboration with technology leaders to develop AI-powered shopping experiences.

Two of the biggest payment processors globally, Mastercard and Visa , announced this week that they will work with some of AI's largest companies to able agentic shopping experiences for consumers. Agentic shopping will happen when a consumer tells a model to buy an item for them, and the model obliges; for instance, if a consumer wants to purchase a black T-shirt made of 100 percent cotton, an AI agent can help find suitable options, and, in the future, will be likely to purchase directly for the consumer.

Both firms are converting customers' actual payment details into tokens to achieve this; essentially, they are generating digital tokens that enable AI entities to execute safe transactions without disclosing confidential consumer data.

Jack Forestell, who serves as Visa’s chief product and strategy officer, stated that this type of consumer protection will facilitate superior results for agentic shopping, simultaneously enhancing consumer confidence.

"Soon people will have AI agents browse, select, purchase and manage on their behalf," Forestell said in a statement. "These agents will need to be trusted with payments, not only by users, but by banks and sellers as well."

Visa announced it has partnered with Anthropic, IBM, Microsoft, Mistral AI, OpenAI, and Perplexity, while Microsoft is starting with a Microsoft partnership it plans to expand to other providers in the future.

The providers made it clear that consumers will be able to control how their money is spent; per Visa, consumers will be able to "set spending limits and conditions, providing clear guidelines for agent transactions." And, according to Mastercard, users will retain "complete control over what the agent is allowed to purchase on their behalf, ensuring that the payments they make are securely authorized and identified."

While the technology is likely to have myriad use cases once agentic AI becomes more prevalent in shopping, Mastercard knows it can be used for simple consumer transactions and for B2B use cases. In its announcement, it shared an example about a small textile business.

"A small textile enterprise will be able to use their AI agent to handle sourcing, optimize payment terms and manage logistics with an international supplier. From there, the AI agent can complete the cross-border purchase using a Mastercard virtual corporate card token and arrange for cost-effective, expedited delivery," Mastercard noted.

The company's statements were made during the same week when OpenAI declared that consumers would gain access to enhanced shopping functionalities designed to streamline product exploration and buying processes for online retailers.

Skechers launches AI-powered retail assistant in Singapore store

Skechers has teamed up with We Are Social Singapore to bring an AI-powered assistant into a physical store in Singapore. The assistant, which it calls Luna, has the ability to take into account customers' preferences-alongside what they are actively wearing-to recommend products, and how to style them, for that consumer.

Luna interacts with customers through a kiosk or through messaging app Telegram, and can point consumers in the direction of in-store products or online items.

Manolis Perrakis, who serves as the innovation director at We Are Social Singapore, stated that this activation showcases how AI agents could begin to interact with customers in real-time, encompassing both physical and digital realms.

"The emergence of AI speech-to-speech technologies is powering an agentic AI revolution that forms the backbone of future consumer-facing systems. Luna is an additional touchpoint for Skechers to complement its innovative retail experience, uniting retail and online environments into a seamless ecosystem. This integration empowers brands to strengthen customer relationships and drive dynamic, two-way conversations that connect the shop floor and customers' phones."

The activation is part of a short-term event to celebrate the opening of the store within the Punggol Digital District, so Luna will be a temporary fixture. Nonetheless, the assistant is another way brands have begun using AI-powered technology to interact directly with their consumers, though Luna is more novel than, say, using generative AI to power customer service chatbots for digital.

Skechers' most recent initiative underscores how companies keep enhancing their strategies for customer personalization, especially within today’s cutthroat retail landscape. However, when pursuing this path, businesses must strike a delicate balance—they risk coming across as either useful or unsettling. According to data from the Boston Consulting Group, about sixty-seven percent of individuals who encountered AI-powered personalization found these experiences intrusive or incorrect.

Phia aims to provide consumers with easy options for buying used goods.

Sophia Kianni and Phoebe Gates announced late last month that they had launched Phia, which uses AI to give consumers insights on whether there's a way to buy a product they've viewed at a lower price.

Users can download the Phia app or use the technology through extensions on desktop. When viewing an item on a brand or retailer's site, consumers using Phia are presented with a button that asks, "Should I buy this?"

From there, Phia generates a price summary-whether the price is low, typical or high-and suggests where a consumer can buy an identical or similar product for cheaper. It shows both options to buy new from sites like Amazon and to buy secondhand from platforms such as Poshmark, Depop, and eBay.

The creators pointed out that their exclusive tech can be utilized by all types of e-commerce brands.

Kianni said Phia helps encourage users to buy secondhand items; by showing them a variety of resale items, the technology wants to improve environmental outcomes and help consumers, who currently lack optimism about the U.S. economy, pay less for the goods they want or need to purchase.

"We, like so many consumers, want to shop smarter and make the most of our money," Kianni said in a statement. "Great secondhand options exist, but they're scattered across hundreds of websites-and no one has time to search them all. Our patented model solves that pain point by delivering instant price insights and better options to help customers make smarter, faster decisions with their money."

Oracle uses AI to quell logistics' leaders trade concerns

As companies fret over how their supply chain practices will be impacted by tariffs and economic uncertainty, technology providers want to use AI and automation to preemptively stop their headaches.

Oracle announced in late April that it had added trade management capabilities to its supply chain and manufacturing cloud, focused on ensuring clients can adequately handle the changes to their operations onslaught by tariffs and trade agreements.

This is achieved through automation of specific tasks, including product categorization—the tool assists logistics administrators in effortlessly determining which codes should be utilized for newly introduced or modified goods. Additionally, it consolidates data regarding foreign trade zone eligibility, monitors import/export activities to derive analytics related to duty refunds, and produces documentation needed for subsequent filing procedures.

Chris Leone, who serves as the executive vice president of applications development at Oracle, stated that this new tool can assist in making sure leaders aren’t burdened with tracking each trade update manually.

"Supply chain leaders are stepping up to the challenge by exploring innovative methods to navigate their operations amidst fluctuating global trade deals and international duties. In response to these complexities, we've enhanced Oracle Global Trade Management features to assist our clients. These updates empower supply chain directors to swiftly adapt to alterations and reduce disruptions across their worldwide supply networks," as stated by Leone.

More from Sourcing Journal

• Supply Chain Executives Adopt AI, Yet Face Challenges Closing the Technology Execution Divide
• OpenAI Advances Shopping Experience with Enhanced ChatGPT Updates
• Amazon-Supported Glacier Secures $16M in Series A Funding for AI-Powered Recycling Robots

Share this post