Stripe: Growth of AI agents making purchases

In September, AI agents made 38 times more purchases via Link, Stripe's payment wallet, than the previous month, with an average expenditure of around 100 dollars. This growth has been confirmed by Stripe in a blog and an additional overview to Upstarts Media, stating that the total amount spent by these agents was 20 times higher than before.

The Link wallet, which allows users to manage their payment card and bank account, is now being used by about 200 AI agents. Among the most well-known are Muse from Meta and Grok Bot from xAI. Stripe, which has approximately 300 million users, aims to further increase the volume of purchases through AI agents. Dan Hill, product head at Stripe, emphasizes that the current volume of purchases is becoming increasingly relevant.

To reassure users of the AI agents, Stripe offers purchase protection. This insurance covers damages from accidents, lost packages, and price drops after purchase. Muse is the first assistant to utilize this protection. Another advantage of Link is that AI agents do not need to stop the purchase during price increases at checkout but can simply have the amount approved.

In the future, Stripe wants to enable users to allow AI agents to make autonomous purchases within a predetermined budget, which could further enhance efficiency. This model has direct implications for Dutch e-commerce, where online purchases are already widespread. Currently, Dutch banks such as Rabobank and ING are still experimenting with AI agents, but a service for customers is not yet available.

Stripe's data promises growth in the use of AI assistants for online purchases, especially in the United States. When Dutch online stores are able to better tailor their products for AI shopping, adoption is likely to increase.

Read the full article from AI Insider.