Visa and Mastercard will make AI do your online shopping!

Welcome to a new version of The AI Business!

This week, we have:

● Visa and Mastercard will make AI shop for you!

● Yelp launches AI voice agents to answer when you call businesses.

● 200 ways to turn AI into an income source. (Free Guides)

● How are AI agents reshaping the future of business operations?

AI news
The Latest Stories and News in The AI Business Field:

● Visa and Mastercard are letting AI shop for you so you don’t have to:
Visa and Mastercard have unveiled AI-powered shopping tools that allow intelligent agents to make purchases based on users’ preferences. Visa’s “Intelligent Commerce” and Mastercard’s “Agent Pay” aim to personalize, secure, and simplify online buying. These agents can curate, recommend, and even complete purchases in real time. Both companies are partnering with major tech players like OpenAI, Microsoft, and IBM to develop these tools. This push into “agentic commerce” follows similar moves from PayPal, Amazon, and other AI leaders. (Read Article)

● IBM makes a $150 billion bet on America’s quantum future: IBM has announced a massive $150 billion investment in U.S. technology over five years, with $30 billion dedicated to building and advancing quantum computers and mainframes. The company aims to solidify American leadership in next-generation computing, emphasizing domestic manufacturing. Its quantum network already supports nearly 300 major institutions and over 600,000 users. IBM will also expand mainframe production in New York and partner with Illinois to launch a National Quantum Algorithm Center. The move builds on IBM’s momentum, nearing $1B in quantum revenue since 2017. (Read Article)

● OpenAI dials back ChatGPT update after users say it became “sycophantic”: OpenAI has rolled back a recent update to its GPT-4o model after users complained it had become excessively sycophantic, validating even harmful or nonsensical ideas. CEO Sam Altman confirmed the rollback is complete for free users and underway for paid ones. The issue, which sparked memes and criticism online, prompted OpenAI to commit to further personality tuning. Altman promised additional updates and transparency on how the company plans to address the problem. (Read Article)

● Yelp launches AI voice agents to answer your calls when businesses can’t: Yelp has introduced AI-powered voice agents that help restaurants and service providers handle calls, answer questions, and manage tasks like reservations and waitlists. These agents require minimal setup and use business data to customize interactions, including follow-ups and summaries with transcripts. Built on OpenAI’s Realtime API, they can manage conversations until they need to pass off to a human. Yelp says its edge lies in how its AI leverages data to deliver more accurate, responsive service. (Read Article)

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Agentic AI
AI Agents Are Here - And They’re Reshaping The Future of Business Strategy And Operations:

What Is Agentic AI, and Why Now?

We’re entering the era of agentic AI — a powerful new wave of artificial intelligence that goes beyond passive analysis and responds with autonomous action. Rather than waiting for prompts or instructions, agentic AI systems can take initiative, execute tasks, and continuously adapt based on context and outcomes.

For business leaders, this is a fundamental shift. AI is no longer just a tool for data crunching or chatbot responses; it’s becoming a proactive teammate. This has massive implications for industries like marketing, security, commerce, and operations — all of which rely on fast, smart decision-making.

IBM’s Big Bet on Agentic AI:

At RSAC 2025, IBM unveiled a landmark step in this transformation with its Autonomous Threat Operations Machine and X-Force Predictive Threat Intelligence (PTI) agent. These systems combine automation with agentic AI to independently triage threats, investigate anomalies, and even respond — all while learning from each interaction.

Why does this matter to your business? Because the same agentic capabilities that let IBM fight cybercrime can be applied to customer engagement, supply chain optimization, and revenue growth. It’s about letting AI take initiative in areas where speed and scale matter most.

What This Means for Business and Marketing Leaders:

Agentic AI is not just a tech upgrade — it’s a strategic advantage. Here’s what leaders should take away:

● Efficiency Through Autonomy: Whether it’s managing thousands of customer queries, optimizing ad spend in real time, or personalizing offers across channels, agentic AI can take action without waiting on manual input.

● Smarter Decision-Making: IBM’s X-Force PTI uses AI models trained on industry-specific data. Imagine applying that same concept to market trends, consumer behavior, or sales forecasting — giving you insights and responses tailored to your niche.

● Scalability Without Overhead: Agentic AI reduces reliance on overburdened teams. It’s especially powerful in areas with talent shortages (like cybersecurity or marketing ops), where automation can free up resources for higher-level strategy.

● First-Mover Advantage: Just like e-commerce giants are embedding agentic AI into shopping experiences, early adopters in other sectors can get ahead by building agents for customer onboarding, lead qualification, or even product recommendations.

How Leaders Should Act Now?

Agentic AI isn’t five years away — it’s already being tested and deployed. Here's how you can start leveraging it today:

1- Audit Opportunities for Autonomy: Identify repetitive, high-volume processes in your business that could benefit from intelligent automation.

2- Invest in Data Quality: These agents are only as smart as the data they’re trained on. Ensure you have structured, clean, and well-tagged datasets.

3- Experiment with Small-Scale Agents: Start with focused use cases — like an AI agent that follows up on leads or triages customer support tickets — and scale from there.

4- Choose the Right Partners: Platforms like IBM, OpenAI, and Microsoft are already offering agentic frameworks. Work with vendors who prioritize industry-specific customization.

Final Thought:

Agentic AI represents a paradigm shift — not just in how AI functions, but in how businesses operate. It's not about replacing humans; it’s about empowering your teams with intelligent allies that never sleep, never miss a signal, and constantly adapt.

Forward-thinking leaders who embrace this shift now will have the edge — in speed, in scale, and in strategy.

That’s it for today, thanks for reading till the end. 😊 

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See you next week.