Gen Z spending rose 35% in the third quarter, according to management commentary.
Outside AI agents face access controls, remarks from an earnings call documented.
American Express is cutting management layers and expanding artificial intelligence across customer service and commerce, with rules governing how outside agents reach customers’ accounts and benefits.
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According to a Friday (Oct. 23) third-quarter earnings presentation and management commentary on an earnings call, the company expects to eliminate approximately 5% of positions globally following a $336 million restructuring charge. American Express Chairman and CEO Steve Squeri said leadership teams were asked to streamline their organizations and speed decision-making. He described AI’s productivity benefits separately, without attributing the full reduction to automation.
American Express launched its first conversational AI voice agents and is using AI to help employees resolve service issues and investigate complaints and disputes. Its plans also extend to how customers discover products, make reservations and authorize purchases.
“We need to protect our customer and merchants, and we’re only going to allow agents access to our systems that are either approved through API or MCP channels,” Squeri said during Friday’s analyst Q&A.
Consumer spending remained stronger than business spending. Consumer purchases in the United States rose 9.4%, with discretionary categories contributing to growth.
“Restaurant spending continues to be high,” Squeri said. “It was up 9%. It is the largest T&E category.
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