Visa has published its Business-to-AI report, outlining shifting attitudes among US consumers and business leaders toward AI-driven commercial transactions.
The new study from Visa has documented growing acceptance of AI agents as active participants in commercial transactions, with data drawn from a survey of 2.000 consumers and 512 business decision-makers in the US, conducted in partnership with Morning Consult between January and February 2026.
The report introduces the concept of B2AI (business-to-AI) as a framework for describing commerce in which AI agents evaluate, negotiate, and execute transactions on behalf of individuals or enterprises, while humans retain accountability for intent and outcomes. Visa positions B2AI as an emerging economic model distinct from earlier AI applications, which were largely confined to recommendations and operational optimisation.
Among business decision-makers surveyed, 53% said they would allow AI agents to negotiate prices or terms directly with other AI agents on their behalf. A further 88% indicated willingness to share pricing or inventory data with enterprise AI systems, and 77% reported already using or piloting AI in their operations. Moreover, some 71% said they would optimise products, offers, and experiences specifically for AI agents, a signal that commercial infrastructure is being reoriented not only toward human buyers, but toward machine intermediaries acting on their behalf.
Consumer trust remains the central variable
Consumer acceptance is advancing but remains conditional. The survey found that 58% of Americans are comfortable with AI comparing prices, and 55% are comfortable with AI applying discounts. However, only 38% are comfortable with AI completing a purchase autonomously, and 60% said they would not allow an AI agent to spend any amount without prior approval.
Trust in AI agents varies significantly depending on institutional backing. Some 36% of respondents said they trust bank-backed AI systems, and 35% trust payment network-enabled AI, compared to 28% for independent AI agents. This gap suggests that established financial infrastructure may serve as a differentiating factor in consumer adoption of agentic commerce tools.
Generational differences are pronounced. Among Gen Z respondents, 48% said they trust payment network-enabled AI systems, against 20% of Boomers. Separately, nearly 40% of all Americans surveyed reported making a purchase they would not otherwise have considered as a result of using an AI agent or tool.
Implications for the payments ecosystem
The findings carry direct relevance for payment networks, financial institutions, and merchants preparing for a shift in how transactions are initiated and completed. If AI agents increasingly act as proxies for human buyers, the points at which trust, authentication, and authorisation are established will need to be reconsidered. The data indicates that consumers are more willing to delegate discovery and comparison tasks to AI than they are to delegate final spending decisions, a distinction with significant implications for where human oversight must be preserved in the transaction flow.
The survey was conducted online with a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points for the general population sample and plus or minus four percentage points for business decision-makers.
