American Express Unveils Agentic Commerce Tools to Advance AI Payments
Generative AI is moving beyond shopping recommendations toward agentic commerce, in which AI can select products, place orders and make payments on consumers' behalf. As a card issuer, payment network and acquirer, American Express could help clarify liability for mistaken purchases by verifying an agent's identity and purchasing intent. Such safeguards could also reduce the risks consumers and merchants face in adopting AI payments.
American Express released its Agentic Commerce Experiences (ACE) developer toolkit on April 14, 2026. It covers agent registration, account linking, intent recognition, payment credentials and shopping-cart information. The company also said the forthcoming Amex Agent Purchase Protection would cover eligible purchases made in error by AI agents. American Express did not disclose the investment amount, coverage limit or formal launch date.
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The history behind this eventVisa, Santander Launch Agentic Payments Project in Latin America
Agentic commerce allows AI agents, with consumers’ authorization, to search for products, place orders and make payments. Visa and Banco Santander integrated Visa Intelligent Commerce (VIC) with existing payment infrastructure to test consent capture, data security and interoperability across merchants and payment networks. A Visa survey found that more than 70% of Latin American consumers already use AI during the shopping process, making transaction controls and consumer protection critical to scaling the technology.
Visa and Banco Santander announced on March 12, 2026, that they had completed Latin America’s first end-to-end AI agent payment pilots across five markets: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Uruguay. An AI agent bought chocolate in Brazil and books in the other four countries, completing the payments within existing regulatory and authorization parameters. The companies did not disclose transaction values or the number of participants.
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