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Here are the recommended reads for this week and why they matter:
This week’s stories explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping the shopping experience. Visa is introducing a new protocol to help retailers verify legitimate AI shopping agents, ensuring trust as agentic commerce grows. At the same time, Walmart is partnering with OpenAI to make shopping more conversational, allowing customers to plan, discover, and purchase directly through ChatGPT. Together, these developments reflect a shift toward more intelligent, seamless, and secure digital experiences, showing how quickly AI is moving from experimentation to everyday retail.
1. Exclusive: Visa preps for AI holiday shoppers, agentic commerce
Kelly Tyko, Axios, 10/14/2025
Visa is getting ready for a holiday season shaped by artificial intelligence with its new Trusted Agent Protocol, developed in collaboration with Cloudflare and supported by Microsoft, Shopify, and Adyen. The open standard is designed to help merchants identify legitimate AI shopping agents, like those soon to be powered by ChatGPT or other assistants, while filtering out malicious bots. As AI-driven shopping activity has surged 4,700% year over year, the initiative lays the groundwork for agentic commerce, where digital assistants can safely browse, compare, and purchase on behalf of consumers.
The protocol makes AI-driven checkout as seamless as today’s online shopping without requiring major system changes. While most AI shopping this holiday season will still involve a human clicking “buy,” Visa expects 2026 to be the first real season of agentic commerce. As consumers look for faster and simpler experiences, this effort highlights a new era in digital retail where trust, security, and automation work together to reshape the path to purchase.
2. Walmart taps OpenAI for “AI-first” shopping through ChatGPT
Kelly Tyko, Axios, 10/14/2025
Walmart is partnering with OpenAI to make shopping conversational through ChatGPT. The retailer’s new “AI-first” experience will allow customers to plan meals, restock essentials, and check out directly within the chatbot. Instead of typing static search queries, shoppers can ask questions like “plan a weeknight taco dinner” or “reorder my staples,” receive curated recommendations, and complete purchases in a single step.
Walmart calls this the beginning of a multimedia, contextual, and personalized shopping experience powered by its in-house technology and OpenAI’s models. The move positions Walmart at the forefront of agentic commerce, where AI doesn’t just answer questions but anticipates needs and drives action. With AI already shaping product discovery, replenishment, and customer service across its brands, Walmart’s latest integration marks another step toward frictionless, intelligent retail.
In Summary
AI is redefining the balance between convenience, trust, and personalization in commerce. Visa’s new protocol points to a future where digital agents shop securely on our behalf, while Walmart’s partnership with OpenAI turns conversations into transactions. Together, they show that the next phase of retail will be defined not only by smarter technology but by how naturally it integrates into daily life.
Check back next week for another roundup of Media That Matters.
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Published on
updated
October 16th, 2025
