AI startup Perplexity has announced a new partnership with PayPal, enabling U.S. users to make one-click purchases directly within its chat interface. This move aims to differentiate the company in the growing AI-powered e-commerce landscape.
AI Agents Enable In-Chat Shopping and Seamless Payments
As competition intensifies in the generative AI space, Perplexity revealed on Wednesday that it will allow in-chat transactions via PayPal and Venmo. Users will soon be able to book travel, purchase goods, or secure concert tickets without leaving the chat. PayPal will manage the transaction process, including checkout, shipping, tracking, and invoicing through its passkey system.
Accelerating the Shift to AI-Powered E-Commerce
Perplexity began integrating shopping features in 2023 for paid users, working with platforms like Shopify. With its latest upgrade, the company now supports full transaction capabilities in-chat—an advancement not yet implemented by ChatGPT. Ryan Foutty, Perplexity’s VP of business, stated, “Our vision for assistive AI is that everything just gets better and easier for people.”
Payment Giants Compete to Power AI Commerce
The announcement follows a broader trend among payment firms racing to embed AI into e-commerce. In April, Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal all launched tools to support AI agents handling online transactions. Visa introduced Intelligent Commerce, while Mastercard rolled out Agent Pay in collaboration with Microsoft’s AI solutions. PayPal also debuted a toolkit for embedding payments into AI shopping systems.
Building Trust in Agentic Commerce
According to PayPal CTO Srini Venkatesan, the company’s edge lies in its ability to verify both buyers and sellers while auto-filling user data, streamlining the purchasing process. “People are starting to research and shop online through agents,” he said. “Agentic commerce is not only the searching but making it all the way to the purchase.”
Perplexity’s Market Momentum Continues
The announcement coincides with Perplexity closing a $500 million funding round, valuing the company at $14 billion. Salesforce data shows AI-driven chat usage in customer service has surged 42% over the past year, while AI-influenced purchasing decisions rose by 6%, contributing to $229 billion in global sales during the 2023 holiday season.
As tech firms compete to streamline AI-assisted shopping, how will user expectations shift around convenience, security, and trust?
