Visa & Akamai: Securing AI Shopping's Future

Visa and Akamai Technologies have partnered to tackle the escalating security challenges posed by AI-powered shopping experiences and autonomous agentic transactions. This collaboration seeks to establish a robust framework for verifying that AI agents conducting purchases are authorized by humans, not malicious actors. By integrating Visa's Trusted Agent Protocol with Akamai's advanced threat intelligence, the initiative aims to authenticate both the agent's identity and the human it represents.

The surge in AI-driven bot traffic, reportedly increasing by 300% over the past year according to Akamai's 2025 Digital Fraud and Abuse Report, highlights the critical need for enhanced security measures. This partnership endeavors to provide merchants with greater confidence in the legitimacy of transactions, thereby fostering safer e-commerce environments. The solutions are designed for minimal infrastructure and user experience changes, facilitating broad adoption across Visa's extensive merchant network.

This initiative is part of a larger industry trend where various companies are developing new protocols to secure agent-based transactions. Visa's prior launch of Intelligent Commerce and Google's Agent Payments Protocol underscore the growing focus on creating trusted economic actors within the AI commerce landscape. The collaboration is poised to transform AI agents from novelties into reliable participants in online commerce.