Agentic commerce is a rapidly growing frontier of AI for consumers and businesses, reiterated by Google's recent launch of Universal Cart at I/O in May. This week, Visa and OpenAI further solidified that infrastructure -- but how reliable are AI agents when it comes to making purchases?

On Wednesday, the two companies announced a partnership to provide Visa-protected agentic transactions within OpenAI and effectively "bring agentic commerce into the mainstream," as Visa said in its release. Visa's Trusted Agent Protocol, among its other authorization and security layers, will integrate with OpenAI interfaces, like Atlas and ChatGPT Shopping, and allow developers and merchants to accept payments from agents.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, ZDNET's parent company, filed an April 2025 lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

"Transactions operate inside guardrails that the consumer or business sets: spending limits, required approval thresholds, and other permission layers that keep the buyer in command even when an agent is executing the work," Visa explained.

For consumers, this looks like letting agents do your shopping research (complete with pre-set personalizations) and make routine purchases you feel comfortable enough to automate. For merchants, the idea is still that a more seamless buying experience across more AI-powered surfaces, where consumers increasingly are, appeals to new buyers.

Visa's announcement also mentioned the partnership would apply to "OpenAI's expanding suite of AI-powered products," though it did not specify any involvement with the company's forthcoming "superapp" when ZDNET asked.