Google’s Agentic Pay system promises to eliminate checkout friction by enabling AI agents to complete purchases in milliseconds, but raises critical questions about consumer protection and algorithmic accountability.
Dominating the coverage of all business and news cycles, last week could not have gone any better for Google showcasing its new roster of upcoming AI modules powered by enhanced Gemini protocols.
A live stream of the Google I/O 2025 Developer Conference in Palo Alto detailed the forthcoming launch of 12 new AI modules which will drive 101 transformative changes across Google’s ecosystem.
This includes plans to enhance Google’s ‘Agentic Pay’ system, extending the use of AI beyond search queries and content suggestions to perform consumer intent.
Critics and audiences alike were enthralled by Google boldly putting forward its AI vision into play, heralding the arrival of the “Gemini Era,” as expressed by CEO Sundar Pichai, with a smile from ear-to-ear. In one fell swoop Google silenced all sceptics who questioned whether the giant had stumbled in the Valley’s AI arms race, with Alphabet’s share price spiking 5% on consecutive days following the showcase.
Google’s centerpiece was its new AI-driven Search Strategy which transforms static results into dynamic, task-orientated responses. Gemini will enable users to engage in conversational queries, access deeper insights, and complete complex actions like shopping or planning directly within Search.
Put simply, the next evolution of search sees it transformed via AI into a multifaceted utility for users that will anticipate needs, execute tasks, and manage daily routines — without requiring them to type or even articulate what they want.
AI Search unchains “Agentic Pay” systems
This search transformation powers Google’s “Agentic Pay” system, where Gemini will enable checkout at the point of discovery, eliminating product pages, carts, and redirects. The system performs automatic purchases through stored credentials when conditions are met, reducing checkout time to milliseconds while transforming consumer decision processes while reshaping a retailer’s customer loyalty.
Yet the most disruptive element will be on digital retailers, who must now compete on AI discoverability, not SEO or landing pages — while customer loyalty shifts to AI agents. Google and Wall Street know this, as shares in Shopify dropped by 𝟱% within hours of the announcement.
However, let’s remind ourselves that this is no new battleground. Mastercard and Visa are building their own agentic transaction systems to break the “Agentic Code” by adding similar intelligence to their payment systems and digital wallets.
The competitive battle now focuses on controlling AI systems that determine payment network selection. Agentic Pay serves as proof of Google’s transformation from platform to agent rather than functioning as an independent product.
For all its promise, agentic shopping presents unresolved structural concerns and legal conundrums which regulators must consider when authorising agentic transactions.
What happens should an agent misbuy, overbuy, or be deceived by false listings? If an AI system executes a purchase without direct user confirmation, does the liability rest with the platform, the payment processor, or the retailer?
These are legitimate regulatory concerns, as Agentic Pay’s path to mass adoption faces obstacles similar to the driverless car – would you trust an algorithm to drive you to your wedding or buy your wedding dress?
Google’s current role in such transactions remains opaque — whether it will act as a merchant of record or simply as a facilitator has yet to be clarified.
This unclear status creates uncertainties about consumer protection, as present chargeback systems are designed for user-initiated fraud and disputes may not work effectively for machine-initiated transactions.
Financial networks need to develop new liability structures and chargeback codes and establish frameworks for AI error adjudication to support this new payment model. The theory of agentic commerce exists as an elegant concept, but its practical risks threaten to undermine its usefulness until new solutions emerge.
The model’s future success remains uncertain; it may either enhance customer satisfaction or create additional concerns about behavioural manipulation and algorithmic transparency.
Digital commerce is set to move beyond attention capture because the next competitive advantage will come from capturing agency, a harsh reality for those who will be left behind in retail and payments.
There is no turning back for Google, which has placed its bet on Agentic Pay. AI is godless, but for the sake of humanity, we can only pray that it has good fashion sense!
