AXP · Earnings call · 2026Q3T · Full report

AI and Agentic Commerce

AMERICAN EXPRESS CO · 2026-10-23 · Importance 31 · Surprise 42

Management said agentic transaction volumes remain small, but AI is changing how consumers and businesses discover, compare, decide, pay, and manage finances. American Express is developing AI-enabled membership experiences across personalized value propositions, customer acquisition, engagement, payments, and service, using its closed-loop network, first-party data, and trusted brand. Examples include Resy restaurant discovery and reservations in ChatGPT, a planned Amex Offers plugin, AI travel planning through Wishlist Builder, and curated business tools offered through Perplexity. For agentic payments, the company is working with AI partners on its Agentic Commerce Experiences developer kit and Intent Intelligence framework, while developing Agent Purchase Protection; management said access to its systems will be selective and limited to approved channels.

Key facts

• American Express published its Agentic Commerce Experiences (ACE) developer kit in Q2 2026 and is working with several leading AI companies to integrate ACE into their platforms.
• American Express launched Resy restaurant discovery and reservations in ChatGPT earlier in 2026 and is working with OpenAI on an Amex plugin for discovering and enrolling in Amex Offers.
• American Express is developing Agent Purchase Protection for eligible purchases when registered agents share intent data and make mistakes.
• American Express is allowing agents to access its systems only through approved API or MCP channels and plans to assess agents selectively.
• American Express released its Intent Intelligence framework earlier in October 2026 to set a standard for authenticating and preserving customer purchase intent.
• Eligible business card members can access Amex-curated AI tools through the company's Perplexity partnership for cash flow forecasting and marketing campaign creation.