Consumers may give AI agents more purchasing authority after repeated transactions show that the technology can follow their preferences.

AI could recommend which payment credential to use based on benefits, offers, available credit and the consumer’s finances.

Merchants will need to make inventory, pricing and product information available for agents to evaluate in real time.

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Consumers won’t hand artificial intelligence agents unrestricted purchasing authority on day one, but repeated successful transactions could expand what they’re willing to delegate.

It’s a topic that now dominates agentic AI discussions. The first time Mastercard Chief Digital Officer Pablo Fourez lets an AI agent buy an airline ticket, he told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster, he wants to check its work. If the agent gets the fare, refund terms and seat right, and keeps getting them right, he sees less reason to keep checking. A lot depends on the transaction itself, or the use case.

“There’s going to be a gradual consumer adoption,” Fourez said. “Initially, you may ask [the agent] to confirm the purchase before it executes it. And you might try that a couple of times. And then you might say, ‘Oh, this is actually working.’”

The amount of authority consumers grant an agent will also depend on what they’re buying.

Fourez used his own purchases to draw the boundaries. He lsaid he ikes Paul Smith striped socks and knows the product well enough that he would be comfortable letting an agent buy them.

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