Visa’s Jenkyn Sees 2026 as the Year of AI-Assisted Shopping

Artificial intelligence-assisted shopping will become more common next year, as alliances between payments and AI firms are forming to shape the increasingly competitive landscape, according to a Visa Inc.executive.

Oliver Jenkyn, group president for global markets, anticipates 2026 will be the year that shopping via chatbots is fully embraced. The feature — introduced in 2025 — helps consumers browse and complete purchases when prompted.

Oliver Jenkyn

Photographer: Isaac Brekken/Getty Images

“In 2026, we’re going to have full mainstream of AI-supported shopping, where I’m doing some of my shopping, I’m doing it in ChatGPT, I’m doing it in one of the other platforms, and ...