AI agents

Visa says it has completed hundreds of real-world transactions initiated by AI agents, marking an early test of a (near) future where software can move from shopping recommendations to payment without a human needing to click through the checkout process.

The transactions were carried out with partners across Visa’s payments ecosystem and took place on live systems, rather than in demonstrations or simulations. According to the company, they show that AI-driven purchases can be completed securely using existing payment infrastructure, so long, that is, as the agent operates within predefined controls.

As AI systems increasingly shift from answering questions to carrying out multi-step work, a key challenge has emerged. The static tests and training data previously used often don't reflect the dynamic and interactive nature of real-world systems.

That’s why Patronus AI today announced its ‘Generative Simulators,’ adaptive simulation environments that can continually create new tasks and scenarios, update the rules of the world in a simulation environment, and evaluate an agent's actions as it learns.

GoDaddy has stepped in to address what it describes as a growing issue in the AI ecosystem by creating a trusted identity naming system for AI agents.

With over one billion agents expected to be built by businesses within the next three years, the company says the challenge of distinguishing legitimate agents from malicious ones must be tackled now. As agent-to-agent interactions become the norm, a system is needed that can provide a standard of trust.