On Thursday 27 August 2026, close to 100 SMU alumni and industry professionals gathered at π¦π π¨ ππ»π±ππππΏπ ππΊπ½π¨π£ for a thought-provoking discussion on the future of agentic commerce and AI-powered payments.
As AI evolves from assisting us to increasingly acting on our behalf, the session explored how prepared consumers, businesses, and the payments ecosystem are for this shift.
The conversation touched on:
πΉ Bridging the infrastructure gap in agentic commerce
πΉ Consumer interest in and adoption of AI shopping agents
πΉ Striking the balance between AI autonomy, trust and control
πΉ Establishing the guardrails needed to enable responsible adoption
πΉ The shift from SEO to GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation)
With approximately two-thirds of consumers expressing interest in using AI shopping agents, the potential is immense. But as AI takes on greater autonomy, questions around trust, security, transparency, and accountability become increasingly critical.
A big thank you to our panellists Gaurav Kayal, Prof Sabine Benoit, Angela, Yeow Ling Tan (MBA 2013), and moderator Ivan Chang (BBM 2014) for bringing diverse perspectives to the conversation.
A special shoutout to Jocelyn Yeo (BBM 2024) for stepping up to coordinate the event and emceeing the evening.
Thank you to Visa Worldwide Pte Ltd for hosting us at Visa University, and to the SMU Payments Alumni Group for bringing this collaboration to life.
Most importantly, thank you to our alumni for showing up, engaging in the conversation and sharing your perspectives.
The future of agentic commerce is moving fast. The question is no longer simply βWhat can AI do?β - but βππ©π’π΅ π’π³π¦ πΈπ¦ π³π¦π’π₯πΊ π΅π° ππ¦π΅ ππ π₯π° π§π°π³ πΆπ΄?β
