How Visa is designing smarter credit cards for AI shopping

Visa announced new initiatives at its Payments Forum 2026 this week, aiming to integrate its payment network into the burgeoning field of AI-driven commerce. The company believes that artificial intelligence will not eliminate credit cards but rather enhance their role, positioning Visa cards as the preferred payment method for AI-assisted shopping. Jack Forestell, Visa's chief product and strategy officer, highlighted a significant gap between consumers using AI for product research and those allowing AI to complete purchases, noting that even in a room of payments professionals, no hands were raised when asked about AI-driven checkouts. Visa has been focusing on "agentic commerce" or "AI-assisted commerce" for over a year, recognizing the growing capability of conversational AI tools to expedite consumer decision-making. The company is developing new AI, tokenization, and stablecoin strategies to ensure its continued relevance in a future where AI agents may handle transactions. Visa's strategy anticipates that the AI shopping boom will ultimately strengthen, not weaken, the position of credit cards in the payment ecosystem. The company's focus on AI-powered shopping stems from observing the evolution of search tools into more conversational and decision-supportive platforms.