HSBC UK is working with Visa to test a new kind of shopping experience. Instead of a human browsing a website and clicking “buy,” an AI agent could do the shopping on your behalf. The agent would search for the best product, compare prices, and complete the transaction — all without the customer touching a keyboard.
This is called agentic commerce, and it may sound futuristic. But Visa launched its “Agentic Ready” programme in Europe in March 2026 specifically to prepare banks and merchants for this shift. For Irish retailers, understanding this trend now could make the difference between being ready and being caught off guard.
How agentic commerce works
The idea is straightforward. A customer gives an AI agent a goal — “find me the best value printer for my office under 200 euro” — and the agent does the rest. It searches online, compares options, reads reviews, and makes a purchase when it finds the right product. The payment is handled securely through the same Visa network that processes regular card payments, with the same fraud protections.
HSBC UK is one of the first banks to trial this approach. Their partnership with Visa focuses on making sure these agent-initiated transactions are secure and trustworthy. The key challenge is ensuring the AI agent is authorised to spend money on your behalf and that fraud protections work the same way they do for human-initiated payments.
Visa’s programme includes a structured pathway for banks to test agent-initiated transactions in controlled environments. This is important because it means the infrastructure is being built with security in mind from the start, rather than being added as an afterthought.
What this means for Irish retailers
If agentic commerce takes off, it will change how customers find and buy products. Instead of optimising your website for human visitors, you may also need to optimise it for AI agents. Product descriptions, pricing, and availability will need to be machine-readable. If an AI agent cannot understand your product page, it will move on to a competitor that is easier for it to process.
This is similar to the shift that happened when Google started ranking websites. Businesses that optimised for search engines got more traffic. The same will happen with AI agents. The retailers that make it easy for AI to understand and buy their products will capture more sales.
For Irish businesses that sell online, this is not an immediate concern. Agentic commerce is still in its early stages. But the infrastructure — Visa’s programme, HSBC’s trial, and similar initiatives across Europe — is being built now. Within a few years, AI agents could represent a meaningful share of online purchases.
Practical steps to prepare
The most important step is making sure your product data is accurate, structured, and up to date. If you sell through a website or an online marketplace, ensure your product feeds include clear descriptions, prices, stock levels, and delivery information. This matters for search engines today and will matter for AI agents tomorrow.
Also, keep an eye on how your payment provider is approaching agentic commerce. If your bank or payment processor offers tools to support agent payments, learn about them early. The businesses that understand these changes before they become mainstream will have a head start.
A new channel for sales
Agentic commerce represents a new sales channel, similar to how mobile shopping emerged a decade ago. Businesses that invested early in mobile-friendly websites captured growth that others missed. The same opportunity is emerging with AI agents.
You do not need to invest heavily today. But understanding the direction of travel will help you make smarter decisions about your website, your product data, and your payment setup. The businesses that prepare will be the ones that benefit when agentic commerce becomes the norm.
The retailers who pay attention now — who clean up their product data, learn about the technology, and stay informed — will be in a strong position when their customers start sending AI agents to do the shopping.