At Possible in Miami, Visa’s CMO printed a sweeping set of AI-driven inventions aimed toward reshaping how we store, promote, and settle. But in an international of agent-to-agent transactions, he tells The Drum, it’s tradition – now not code – that can separate the winners from the remaining.
Visa has simply fired the beginning gun at the subsequent generation of AI-driven trade. As Possible in Miami wound down the bills large unveiled a slate of latest merchandise — together with Visa Pay for cell wallets, Visa Accept for micro dealers, and a programmable cash platform powered through stablecoins – all designed to let self reliant brokers store, settle, and transact around the globe. But in an unique sit-down with The Drum forward of the release, Visa CMO Frank Cooper III made something transparent: whilst the equipment are spectacular, it’s the cultural intelligence at the back of them that can outline who wins.
“Culture shapes what we buy, how we buy, and increasingly, who buys on our behalf,” he informed us. “And that’s changing fast.”
Fast is the correct phrase. Cooper – phase futurist, phase cultural strategist – believes we’re status on the fringe of a brand new generation in advertising. An generation powered through AI brokers that don’t simply counsel merchandise however make self reliant choices, transact, or even negotiate with different bots. The marketer’s activity? Keep manufacturers human in an international run through machines.
Want to head deeper? Ask The Drum
The AI revolution isn’t coming. It’s right here.
While a lot of the trade remains to be speaking about AI, Visa is already placing it to paintings. Just hours after our interview, the corporate introduced 3 primary product inventions – each and every designed to satisfy the AI age head-on.
One of them, Visa Pay, permits any taking part cell pockets to faucet into Visa’s international service provider community. “There are billions of people using mobile wallets that don’t work outside their ecosystems,” Cooper mentioned. “Visa Pay removes that wall. You activate it in your wallet, and now you can tap, click, or scan anywhere Visa is accepted – no new card, no enrollment.”
For micro dealers, Visa Accept flips the style – turning smartphones into card readers with a couple of clicks. “There are 350 million micro sellers out there who can’t accept cards today. This gives them that ability instantly, using just their phone.”
The corporate additionally introduced strikes into stablecoins and programmable cash, with banks like BBVA already minting their very own virtual euros on Visa’s new Tokenized Asset Platform.
But Cooper is fast to show: this isn’t almost about product. It’s about agree with.
“In a world of agent-to-agent commerce, marketing’s role will be profound,” he mentioned. “Yes, it will help explain functionality. But more importantly, it signals whether a brand understands – and cares about – the people it serves.”
From sneakerheads to Swifties: AI is remapping identification
For Cooper, AI’s largest doable isn’t content material era – it’s insights.
“Marketers used to rely on demographics. Age, income, location – they were proxies for behavior. But that world is gone,” he mentioned. “Today, one person might be a sneakerhead, a gamer, a Swiftie, and a startup investor – all before lunch. AI helps us see those identities clearly, and in real time.”
That granularity, he says, reshapes how manufacturers section and act. “You’re no longer looking for ‘lemon-heads’ to sell lemon-lime soda to. You’re looking at how communities form, what they value, what their rituals are. AI makes that visible – but it’s still up to humans to make the judgment calls.”
The imaginative and prescient? AI as a co-pilot that hurries up perception however doesn’t exchange instinct. “I’m excited about where this goes. But only if marketers stay curious and don’t get lazy.”
Marketing’s renaissance second
Despite his position at one of the vital global’s greatest bills corporations, Cooper sees himself as an “accidental marketer.” His roots are in song – from BuzzTone to Def Jam – the place he realized how tradition and trade intermingle.
“Music taught me to understand what moves people,” he mentioned. “Visa might be a tech company at heart, but people still want connection, community, physical proximity. Even imperfection. That’s where marketing earns its keep.”
He likens the present second to the resurgence of vinyl. “We spent years trying to strip out the noise. Then people decided the noise was the good part. The imperfection made it feel real. Brands today need to bring that realness back.”
And that’s why, at the same time as AI brokers tackle extra transactional paintings, Cooper believes entrepreneurs should stay the custodians of name values – and the large concepts that animate them.
“If agents are deciding what to buy, who’s programming those agents? If they’re trained only on past behavior, where does surprise come from? Where does joy come from?” he requested. “That’s our job. To make sure the algorithms don’t erase what makes us human.”
The clock is ticking
So what’s subsequent?
“I don’t know exactly where this leads,” Cooper admitted. “But I do know that every month, something that once seemed impossible becomes reality.”
His recommendation to entrepreneurs?
“Jump in. If you haven’t started investing in AI, it might already be too late. The current is moving. Fast.”
And as Visa positions itself at the leading edge of AI trade – launching equipment that contact each ends of the transaction – Cooper is concentrated at the house in between: the emotional, cultural, human glue that holds all of it in combination.
Because in an international of bots, it seems humanity may well be your most powerful differentiator.