The news: Generative AI (genAI) agents aren’t above sabotage—and most would resort to blackmail or corporate espionage if threatened, per Anthropic’s Agent Misalignment research. When faced with replacement or misaligned goals, Anthropic’s Claude 4 Opus and Google’s Gemini 2.5 Flash responded with blackmail threats to those employees 96% of the time despite ethical restraints in their training. OpenAI’s GPT-4.1, Grok 3 Beta, and DeepSeek-R1 followed suit about 80% of the time. Our take: Anthropic’s research shows that safeguards can’t prevent agents from running off the rails, but continued monitoring will keep those instances to a minimum. Limit agent access to critical systems, review its output during customer contact, and implement failsafes in case deviant patterns emerge.

A new four-day format for Amazon’s tentpole event will shake up the playing field.

Tariff uncertainty, billion-dollar merger and acquisition deals, and a jump in social commerce will create new dynamics in the payments industry in H2 2025. Burgeoning tech like agentic AI and stablecoins will further shake up the space.

Agentic AI, an advanced form of AI combining machine learning, LLMs, and automation, is set to revolutionize retail banking by creating intelligent digital employees. The Financial Brand predicts it will act as a "financial GPS on steroids," offering personalized, proactive financial support by understanding full customer context and anticipating life changes. This could significantly enhance customer experience, particularly appealing to Gen Z's preference for self-service. However, our take suggests a potential cost: job displacement in banking. The ideal scenario involves banks adopting Agentic AI while retaining customer-facing staff, balancing efficiency and personalization with the essential human touch.

The news: Walmart rolled out Sparky, its generative AI (genAI) assistant, to all Walmart app users this week—a preliminary step that puts it closer to achieving its agentic ambitions. Our take: By broadening Sparky’s capabilities, Walmart is trying to position itself not only as a shopping destination, but also as a place where consumers can go when they need everyday life advice or information—such as how to fix a leaky faucet or help with event planning. Whether the retailer succeeds will depend on how well Sparky works, and whether it can convince shoppers to overcome their current skepticism of AI tools.

AI-forward, frictionless customer experience helps ensure Google Pay’s consistent use.

Agentic AI gains momentum: As Amazon, Walmart, eBay and others experiment with AI agents, retailers need to to figure out how to market to bots in addition to humans.

In April, Walmart led the retail rankings thanks to its advanced grid-based delivery system and an elevated in-store beauty experience. Amazon followed closely with the testing of a new AI-powered “Buy For Me” feature designed to simplify purchases. Meanwhile, Temu and Shein adjusted their pricing strategies due to rising import costs, risking their low-price appeal. Here are the eight most interesting retailers and brands from last month, as ranked on our “Behind the Numbers” podcast.

Payment providers are investing in AI to help streamline and personalize both the merchant and customer experiences

The tech is dominating recent headlines as retailer and consumer interest explodes

Agent Pay could transform the payments experience for consumers with hyperpersonalized recommendations

China’s AI agents, such as Manus, can tackle complex tasks with minimal human intervention. That’s helping accelerate the global arms race—nearly 7 in 10 Asia-Pacific decision-makers expect AI agents to bring major disruptions to their companies within 18 months.

Retailers are quickly embracing autonomous AI—sometimes referred to as agentic AI—to enhance operations and customer experiences. Gen Z is leading the shift, using AI for discovery and shopping. But to grow adoption across all generations, retailers must build trust through data security and transparency of AI use.

AI agents are revolutionizing marketing with autonomous capabilities that go far beyond traditional automation. Organizations are implementing AI agents to boost workflow efficiency and prepare for a consumer marketplace increasingly mediated by AI.

AI agents are here, but they’ve had little effect on the consumer journey so far. That should change by the end of 2028.

Amazon’s AI can track prices and book trips, pushing advertisers to prep for automation and agent-optimized experiences.

This year’s festival highlighted a maturing creator economy, a reality check for AI, and bigger and bolder brand activations and marketing trends.

With enterprise users slipping, Zoom is pushing affordable AI agents that write, plan, and coach—aiming to turn fleeting meetings into long-term platform loyalty.

As AI agents become more sophisticated and digital twins evolve, marketers have even more to gain from the emerging technology.

To compete better with Microsoft, Salesforce, and Zendesk, the company must prove the safety and utility of its offerings in this lucrative market.