Since ChatGPT launched in 2022, it has grown to the point where an astonishing 700 million users were sending 18 billion messages a week as of July 2025, according to parent company OpenAI.
The sheer speed and growth in the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems in e-commerce has also been nothing short of phenomenal. A recent survey by Adobe of 5,000 consumers based in the United States found that 52 per cent of the respondents plan to use generative AI when they are shopping online.
Visa, one of the largest payment companies in the world, believes AI-driven commerce will dramatically disrupt and change the payment landscape of Asia-Pacific. The region is now second only to North America in adoption of the tools, according to research released this year by the Boston Consulting Group.
And as these systems evolve from chat-based tools into agents, more and more businesses are quickly moving to embrace this technology to boost e-commerce growth, enhance shopping experiences and streamline operations.
“We believe AI will transform digital commerce,” says Abhijeet Ramesh, vice-president, innovation, growth products and tech partnerships for Asia-Pacific at Visa. “Consumers already use AI agents to compile grocery lists and plan holiday trips, reshaping the shopping journey from discovery to consideration.”
As mentioned, generative AI sources have already made a significant difference in the US e-commerce market. Adobe reported that AI-driven traffic to retail websites in the US has increased by 4,700 per cent year on year in June 2025, while 85 per cent of shoppers who have used AI say it enhanced their online retail experience.
