Mastercard introduces Agent Connect to enhance AI-powered commerce

Mastercard just rolled out Agent Connect, a new product designed to give merchants a single integration point for plugging into the emerging world of AI-powered shopping. The tool is part of an expanded Agent Suite that aims to connect AI agents, digital platforms, and payment providers into one coherent experience. What Agent Connect actually does Agent Connect supports what Mastercard describes as a three-stage shopping journey. First, AI agents help consumers discover products. Then they build cart recommendations. Finally, they secure consumer-authorized transactions within various AI ecosystems. The system is designed to let merchants maintain control over their branding, pricing, and customer relationships, even when an AI agent is doing the browsing. Alongside Agent Connect, Mastercard expanded its Agent Suite with AI shopping agent capabilities and introduced Agent Pay, a system focused on securing transactions through what the company calls “verifiable intents.” The AI agent can only complete a purchase when it has explicit, tokenized authorization from the consumer. Jorn Lambert, Mastercard’s Chief Product Officer, framed the launch in terms of merchant empowerment. He no...