AI Agents and Digital Trust: The New Axis of Commerce According to Visa and Institute for the Future

A report anticipates a decade defined by smart assistants, new forms of digital identity, and trust networks as pillars of global commerce.

The future of commerce is no longer measured solely in terms of contactless payments or e-commerce. Visa, in collaboration with the Institute for the Future (IFTF), has released the report Commerce of Tomorrow, Today, which outlines the next ten years of the commercial ecosystem under a new logic: the combination of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and trusted digital platforms.

The report — which includes early insights from the chapters “The Principle of Trust” and “AI Agents: Reporting for Duty” — describes how these trends will reshape the interaction between consumers, merchants, and financial entities. Far from being futuristic, the study builds on clear signals already present in today’s market.

AI Agents: The New Personal Assistants of Commerce

According to Visa, AI assistants will soon evolve from simple chatbots to true digital representatives of consumers. These agents will be able to make decisions, purchase products, negotiate prices, and even manage payments autonomously, acting as personalized digital extensions available 24/7.

Romina Seltzer, Senior Vice President of Products and Innovation for Visa Latin America and the Caribbean, states that a new era is approaching: “We are entering the age of agentic commerce, where consumers will delegate transactional tasks to AI, but within environments of high trust, privacy, and security.”

Visa anticipates that in a few years, individuals will have multiple integrated AI assistants on their devices, capable of acting with precision based on each user’s habits, preferences, and values.

Redefining Trust in the Age of Algorithms

One of the most powerful axes of the report is the “principle of trust,” a vision that emphasizes the need to rebuild relationships between people and institutions in a hyper-connected and automated world.

Dylan Hendricks, Director of the Institute for the Future, explains that “AI will be a turning point in the relationship between consumers and governments, banks, companies, and media. If applied with ethical intent and transparency, it can strengthen trust bonds; if not, it will lead to a crisis of legitimacy and risk.”

The study promotes the implementation of “digital trust networks,” systems capable of verifying identities, detecting irregularities, preventing fraud, and ensuring the privacy of financial and personal data. These networks will operate as “digital guardians,” “safety nets,” and “cryptographic shields,” safeguarding the integrity of each automated interaction.

A Generational and Environmental Shift

The report also projects the impact of Generation Alpha — born after 2010 — which will grow up interacting with complex systems, from video games to AI-powered dashboards. This generation will manage money and consumption with new codes, forcing companies and banks to adapt.

Moreover, Visa predicts that new markets focused on sustainable value and reducing environmental impact will emerge, driven by technologies that allow for better measurement of resource use and create economic incentives aligned with ESG principles.

Peru and Latin America on the Global Stage

In Latin America, and particularly in Peru, the challenge will be twofold: on one hand, accelerating the digitalization of commerce and financial systems; on the other, ensuring that the implementation of AI agents and trust networks is done under ethical, regulatory, and technological standards appropriate to local needs.