PayPal’s AI-Powered Checkout Strategy
PayPal is doubling down on artificial intelligence (AI) and data-driven personalization to maintain its competitive edge in the evolving digital payments landscape, according to Diego Scotti, general manager of PayPal’s consumer group. The company is integrating with Perplexity’s AI shopping platform to offer personalized product recommendations and seamless checkout experiences powered by consumer data and AI agents.
Scotti discussed PayPal’s adaptation to the era of AI agents and rising competition during a fireside chat at the Viva Tech 2025 conference in Paris. The partnership with Perplexity positions PayPal as the embedded payment option for the platform’s new shopping capabilities. When users interact with Perplexity’s AI, they’ll receive not only query answers but also personalized product recommendations based on PayPal’s consumer data, along with an AI agent that can complete transactions.
Expanding Venmo into a Social Commerce Ecosystem
PayPal is also expanding Venmo into a full-fledged social commerce ecosystem. Users will be able to pay with cryptocurrency, earn rewards, and shop collaboratively through the platform. Scotti highlighted that Venmo has grown into a social network for financial transactions among U.S. users aged 18 to 29, with 100 million customers.
The future of PayPal, according to Scotti, depends on combining AI, consumer insights, and global infrastructure to redefine digital wallets and marketing platforms. Trust and data will be crucial pillars in this transformation, areas where PayPal believes it has a distinct advantage due to its granular view of consumer purchasing behavior.
As the payments landscape continues to evolve with new players like Apple Pay and FinTech wallets, PayPal is responding by joining physical stores’ checkout systems and offering deferred payments and cryptocurrency transactions. The company’s platform-agnostic strategy allows it to partner with various stakeholders while maintaining its competitive edge.
PayPal’s vision reflects a broader ambition to enable frictionless transactions handled by AI agents that understand individual preferences. With its consumer data and AI capabilities, PayPal aims to power smart receipts, personalized product recommendations, and seamless checkout experiences across various platforms.
