American Express will let approved AI shopping assistants use its network

American Express says it will let AI shopping assistants use its payment network, but only approved ones. CEO Steve Squeri said on the October 23, 2026 earnings call that Amex is "just not going to let assistants run rogue through our systems." The company is also building protection for purchases when approved assistants get something wrong.

What changed

Squeri said AI is changing how people find, compare and pay for things. He said agents acting for customers "does not change who the customer is." Purchases made by agents are still small in number, he said, but "the direction is clear."

Access will be limited to agents approved through API or MCP channels, which are set technical connections. Squeri said Amex does not want agents "pinging Resy every four seconds." Amex will take a risk-based approach. An analyst noted that some banks block bots.

The protection plan

Amex is developing Agent Purchase Protection. It would extend Amex's backing to eligible purchases when registered agents receive intent data and then make mistakes. Intent data is the record of what the customer wanted to buy. Squeri did not give a launch date.

Earlier in October, Amex released Intent Intelligence, a framework for confirming and preserving a customer's purchase intent when an agent buys for them. Amex also published a developer kit called ACE in Q2. Squeri said Amex is working with several leading AI companies on it, but he did not name them.

Where Amex shows up in AI

• Resy restaurant discovery and reservations launched in ChatGPT earlier this year.
• An Amex plugin for Offers in ChatGPT is in development.
• Eligible business cardmembers can use Amex-curated AI tools through Perplexity, such as cash flow forecasting.
• Amex has launched its first few conversational AI voice agents for service.

Business customers and the numbers

Squeri said Amex will introduce more agents to help middle-market and larger businesses. He admitted the company has not grown that part of its business as it wanted, and tied several products to competing with Ramp and Brex.

Amex reported Q3 2026 revenue of $20.1 billion, up 9%, and adjusted earnings per share of $4.68, up 13%. The quarter included a $336 million restructuring charge tied to cutting about 5% of global positions.

What is still unknown

Amex has not said when Agent Purchase Protection will start, which AI companies will be approved, or which purchases will count as eligible. Until those details arrive, the safest assumption is that coverage, if it comes, will apply only to approved agents.