TL;DR

PayPal has launched integration with Perplexity’s AI answer engine, allowing US consumers to complete purchases directly within chat conversations. The partnership marks a significant development in agentic commerce, enabling merchants to reach high-intent buyers at the moment of discovery.

A New Era of AI-Powered Shopping

PayPal and Perplexity have unveiled a collaboration that transforms how consumers can shop through AI interfaces. US users exploring Perplexity’s shopping experience can now seamlessly transition from research to purchase without leaving the platform, benefiting from PayPal’s identity verification, buyer protection, and trusted payment processing.

The integration fulfils the companies’ strategic partnership announced earlier this year, positioning PayPal as the commerce solution for AI-driven retail. Consumers can browse merchant catalogues in real-time from retailers including Abercrombie & Fitch, Ashley Furniture, Fabletics, Adorama, and NewEgg.

What This Means for Merchants

For businesses, the partnership offers immediate access to the emerging agentic economy without complex technical requirements. PayPal’s agentic commerce services enable merchants to:

  • Seamless Integration: Product catalogues become instantly discoverable within Perplexity’s results
  • Higher Conversion: Capture high-intent buyers at the moment of discovery
  • Trusted Security: Transactions are screened by PayPal’s fraud detection and risk management systems

Michelle Gill, General Manager at PayPal, described the collaboration as “the opening act of PayPal’s innovation in commerce for the agentic era,” emphasising the company’s commitment to making AI-driven commerce seamless across platforms.

Looking Forward

This development signals the growing importance of agentic commerce—where AI agents facilitate transactions on behalf of consumers. As more platforms integrate payment capabilities directly into conversational interfaces, businesses will need to consider how their products and services can be discovered and purchased through AI-powered channels.

Source: Finextra

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