What We Heard at Money20/20: Agentic AI is Changing the Retail Game

Welcome to Up Next, a Synchrony newsletter on the latest innovations, insights and ideas from Synchrony and our partners that are redefining the future of credit.  

At Money20/20, Agentic Commerce was THE topic of conversation about the future of shopping, payments and identity.  

From panels to roundtables and insightful sessions with our trusted partners, Synchrony’s thought leaders explored how AI-powered shopping agents will make purchasing faster, smarter and more personal than ever before. These agents are poised to transform how customers connect with retailers – and how retailers earn loyalty.  

“5 Things I Heard at Money20/20” 

By Rachel Moore, SVP of Incubation and Emerging Payments at Synchrony 

AI agents’ primary goal is to find the best value for the shopper. Synchrony’s unique position working with hundreds of thousands of retailers and serving over 100 million consumers gives us deep insight into the nuances of this new landscape. We understand that as AI agents take on a greater role, it’s no longer enough for brands to simply be found. They must be seamlessly integrated and discoverable within agent-driven experiences.  

At Money20/20, conversations around payment innovation, trust and loyalty reaffirmed that the future of commerce will be defined by the fusion of AI capabilities and human-centric value. From frictionless checkout experiences to reimagined loyalty models, Synchrony is actively pioneering solutions that connect these dots, ensuring our partners stay ahead of the curve.  

Here's what I heard in my conversations: 

1. AI is already transforming shopping: Generative AI has already transformed shopping and agentic commerce is a fast-approaching reality. Brands need to be planning now for how this will change their approach, and we are excited to be at the forefront with many of them.   
2. Trust Will Determine Who Wins: Questions around security, liability, fraud prevention and authorization are top of mind for merchants and payment providers as AI agents augment human decision-making by handling routine tasks, providing insights and making purchases authorized by humans.  
3. Loyalty Programs Must Evolve:  Agentic AI is reshaping how brands build loyalty. At Money20/20, I shared how Synchrony is redesigning loyalty programs to interact with AI shopping assistants. The shift requires loyalty signals to be machine-readable, dynamic and visible to agents. For instance, if a brand offers better rewards, financing options or faster delivery, AI agents can prioritize that brand over competitors.  
4. The In-Store Experience Isn’t Going Away: Despite the rise of AI-powered agents, there’s still room for the sensory aspects of retail. Industry leaders point out that many consumers still value seeing, feeling and testing products in person. 
5. Early Movers Will Shape the Rules: The brands that lean into agentic commerce now are the ones that will influence how it evolves. Brands waiting on the sidelines risk falling behind as this technology transforms the industry.  

My colleague Mike Storiale goes deep on how we’re addressing these challenges and opportunities with industry leaders like Mastercard, Visa, Google and top retailers and fintechs.  He also shares the work we are doing to build the trust stack, machine readable loyalty signals for AI and our own Synchrony AI shopping agent in his blog post HERE.  

The takeaway? The time to lean into agentic commerce is now. The rise of AI agents requires a rethink of everything from sales funnels to customer experiences and requires us to rewire loyalty and payments for AI.  

We’re excited to create the systems brands need to succeed in this new landscape. As we heard at Money20/20, the opportunities are enormous – but getting it right means acting now.   

Read More 

• Want to explore how agentic commerce is shaping the future? Read Mike Storiale’s blog “Agentic Commerce is About to Rewrite How We Shop. Here’s How Synchrony is Preparing Brands to Win”   

• You can also read more here from our Chief Technology and Operating Officer Carol Juel about Synchrony’s AI principles and our decade-long AI transformation.