PayPal launches AI-driven products

PayPal has announced a line-up of artificial intelligence-powered products, alongside an intuitive one-click checkout feature, marking a significant stride in enhancing user experience.

This marks the first significant announcement under the leadership of Alex Chriss, who joined PayPal in September. The introduction of these innovative products underscores companies’ efforts to leverage investor enthusiasm for AI, a trend that contributed to the recent record highs in U.S. stock markets.

PayPal plans to launch an AI-driven platform this year, utilizing data from approximately half a trillion dollars’ worth of global merchant transactions to empower merchants in reaching new customers based on their shopping history.

Merchants will have the capability to employ an additional AI tool named “smart receipts.” This tool goes beyond traditional receipts by suggesting personalized items to shoppers within their email receipts, accompanied by a cashback reward.

PayPal is launching “Fastlane,” a one-click checkout feature that has demonstrated nearly a 40% acceleration in checkout speeds during early testing. Additionally, new features for Venmo business profiles will be introduced, according to the company.

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Investors hope Chriss, former senior executive at Intuit, to boost PayPal’s stock, down over 22% since January 2023 due to disappointing margins. Chriss labels 2024 a “transition year” for PayPal, pledging to expand revenues beyond transaction-related volume.

“The data that we have and our ability to actually see what people have bought and know what merchants are trying to target, that’s where I think AI is the huge opportunity for us,” Chriss said in an interview.

“The outcomes of the innovations … are promising and should improve consumer and merchant experiences.

“That said, we do not think investors will view any of them as groundbreaking new information, but instead initiatives they would have expected the company to already be working on.” Andrew Harte, an analyst at BTIG, said in a research note.