Mastercard has launched Agent Connect, a tool providing merchants with a single integration point to connect with AI shopping agents. This product is part of the broader Agent Suite, which integrates AI agents, digital platforms, and payment providers.
The Agent Connect system supports a three-stage shopping process: product discovery, the creation of cart recommendations, and the execution of consumer-authorized transactions across different AI ecosystems.
The infrastructure allows merchants to retain control over their pricing, branding, and customer relationships while AI agents handle the browsing process. Additionally, Mastercard introduced Agent Pay, which uses tokenized authorization and verifiable intents to secure transactions.
The initial rollout is focused on the US market, with Samsung and Trip.com acting as partners. The Brazilian digital services platform Bemobi will also implement these capabilities.
Mastercard reports that one in three of its existing services already utilize AI technology. Agent Connect expands this application from back-office analytics and fraud detection to the consumer-facing transaction layer.