Can American Express’s Play to De-Risk AI Shopping Capture a $500B Payments Shift?

American Express rolled out a plethora of tools this week to help bring more trust and security to a new era of commerce that sees AI agents shopping on behalf of cardholders. The leading financial services enterprise and credit card issuer introduced a developer kit that can help safeguard agentic transactions on the company’s network.

But it’s American Express’s announcement that the company is bringing protection to purchases from registered AI agents that is likely to help cardholders feel more comfortable engaging with the new technology for their shopping needs.

Agentic commerce — which involves AI agents acting on behalf of cardholders to not only locate items they want to buy, but to actually purchase them — is a relatively new way of shopping that many people are interested in trying out. 

A recent survey reveals that 30% of U.S. consumers say they would let an AI agent make a purchase for them. But that figure will likely grow as more shoppers become familiar with the technology and the potential time savings it offers.

The market for agentic commerce in the U.S. may reach $500 billion by 2030, according to estimates from Bain & Company.

Global consultancy firm Bain & Company predicts the size of the market for agentic commerce in the country may reach $300 billion to $500 billion by 2030, effectively reshaping U.S. eCommerce. 

In addition, the company estimates that 15% to 25% of the entire U.S. eCommerce market will come from agentic commerce in 2030. But people aren’t going to turn their card credentials over to an AI shopping agent if they don’t trust it will use them appropriately.

“Agentic AI is closer than most realize, poised to become part of our everyday [life] once consumer trust and infrastructure click into place,” the authors of the Bain study wrote in their report. “But shoppers remain hesitant, with most saying they aren’t comfortable letting AI handle an end-to-end transaction yet.”

American Express’s announcement this week may go a long way toward building consumer trust and addressing the hesitancy the authors of the Bain study pointed to in their report.

The payments company introduced a new tool, known as Amex Agent Purchase Protection, that protects cardmembers when registered agents make purchases for them. 

In a press release, American Express said that if a card customer gives an AI agent the authority to complete a purchase on their behalf, and that agent sends American Express the customer’s authenticated purchase intent, the company will shield eligible users from any charges stemming from an error the agent made.

Artificial intelligence agents are not just starting to change how consumers find products and purchase them. They can also help people plan travel and dining experiences, Luke Gebb, Executive Vice President and Head of Global Innovation at American Express, said via the release. 

And the company is doing its part to ensure that people don’t avoid using AI agents to shop for them over fears that they’ll be on the hook financially if an agent makes an unauthorized purchase.

“Our goal is to ensure that when an agent acts on a Card Member’s behalf, the identities of both the human and the agent are authenticated and intent is clear — so that every Amex-enabled transaction reflects the backing and seamless experience that define our brand,” Gebb explained.

Amex Agent Purchase Protection represents a commitment, the first of its kind in the industry according to Gebb, to protect cardholders from errors by AI agents.

By operating as an acquirer, issuer, and network, American Express is in a position of advantage to detect and manage problems that agentic commerce may create. 

And the company said it is working with industry groups as well as other companies that deal with AI to help put together guidelines and frameworks for a safe and frictionless agent-driven payments system.

American Express has extensive experience in working with AI agents. The company has taken part in pilot programs along with leading AI platforms to complete thousands of AI-assisted transactions. 

The developer kit American Express unveiled this week — which the network is officially calling the Amex Agentic Commerce Experiences (ACE) Developer Kit — should play a major role in making the protections the company wants to bring to agentic commerce a reality. 

Select developers will have access to the kit and its integrated services. Those services include an account enablement feature that allows cardholders to register their cards to participate in agentic transactions.

That feature stands to bring peace of mind to cardholders who have concerns that their Amex card will start working with AI agents without their consent.

Further, the kit provides a service that aims to ensure that only trusted AI agents can receive authorization to make transactions on American Express’s network.

American Express believes that its closed-loop network gives it an edge as agentic commerce continues to advance.

Gebb said that, as the capabilities of AI agents evolve, cardholders and businesses will look to American Express to provide the same degree of trust and security it has in the past. 

“The ACE Developer Kit enables this in AI-powered commerce,” he added.

With agentic commerce on track to significantly alter how people locate and purchase items, other leading companies in the payments ecosystem will likely join in promoting security and transparency for cardholders employing AI agents to shop for them.

Credit card issuers that fear agentic commerce will cause more than a few hiccups for stakeholders in the payments ecosystem can look to American Express for an example of solutions that can help companies overcome their concerns.

“We are made for this moment,” Gebb said. “Our closed-loop network and Membership assets give us a competitive advantage as AI-powered commerce evolves, enabling us to extend the support and seamless experiences Card Members expect from American Express into the agentic era.”