Experian recently announced Experian Agent Trust, a first-of-its-kind framework that establishes a secure, verifiable link between consumers and AI agents, bringing identity and accountability to AI-driven transactions.
Agentic commerce is the shift from human-navigated online shopping to a model where autonomous AI agents search, compare, and complete purchases on behalf of consumers.
To learn more about why agentic commerce will not scale without trust, Digital Journal spoke with Kathleen Peters, Chief Innovation Officer at Experian. Peters leads innovation efforts focused on solving complex challenges across identity, fraud prevention, and risk management, while helping shape the next generation of products and technologies that power trusted digital interactions.
DJ: AI agents are becoming part of everyday commerce. Why is trust such a critical issue right now?
Peters: We are entering a new era where AI agents are not just helping consumers make decisions, they are increasingly executing transactions independently. An AI agent can search for products, compare options, and even prepare a purchase. That creates incredible convenience, but it also changes a fundamental assumption that commerce has always relied on: knowing there is a human behind every transaction. In the past, online merchants viewed any bot hitting their website as a threat. But in an agentic world, some bots are actually good—they represent legitimate buyers. The catch is that consumers are initially very hesitant to give an autonomous agent open access to their credit cards or financial data until that trust is proven.
As AI takes on a more active role, businesses need confidence that the agent is legitimate, that it is acting under the explicit authority of a verified person, and that the transaction has been authorized. Without that trust, the risks of fraud, misrepresentation, and unauthorized activity increase significantly. Trust is what will enable agentic commerce to move from experimentation to mainstream adoption.
DJ: What is Experian Agent Trust, and how does it help solve this challenge?
Peters: Experian Agent Trust is a framework designed to introduce robust validation, consumer protection, and fraud deterrence into AI-driven commerce. At its core is what we call “Human to Agent Binding,” which securely connects a verified consumer, their device, and the AI agent authorized to conduct the transaction. This capability is a core pillar of a broader ‘Know Your Agent’ (KYA) framework that extends traditional identity verification into the AI era.
That connection creates a trusted foundation for every interaction. Businesses can be confident that the AI agent represents a real person and acts within designated parameters. We also provide real-time trust signals through an Agent Trust Token, which helps validate identity, consent, and fraud risk at the point of transaction.
This is really an extension of what Experian has done for decades. We help establish trust in financial transactions today, and we are now bringing that same expertise to AI-driven commerce.
DJ: Many companies are talking about AI commerce. What makes Experian’s approach different?
Peters: A lot of the innovation happening in this space focuses on a single piece of the puzzle, whether that is payments, agent technology, or authentication. What makes Experian Agent Trust unique is that it brings those pieces together into a unified trust framework anchored in verified human identity.
Trust starts with knowing who is behind the transaction. Our approach creates a secure link between consumers and AI agents while providing real-time risk intelligence and verification. Traditional web automation is deterministic, meaning it follows a rigid script; if a single pixel or rule changes, the system breaks.
Generative AI agents are non-deterministic. They don’t just follow hard-coded rules; they interpret intent and calculate probabilities to make autonomous decisions on the fly. While that adaptability makes them incredibly powerful, it also makes their behaviour unpredictable. You simply cannot secure an AI-driven transaction using old software rules, because the agent isn’t playing by them. It is also designed to work across different platforms and ecosystems rather than within a closed environment.
As agentic commerce evolves, businesses will need trust solutions that are interoperable and scalable. Our goal is to provide a framework that works wherever AI-powered transactions occur.
DJ: Experian is collaborating with organizations like Visa, Cloudflare, Skyfire, and Akamai. Why are partnerships so important in building trusted agentic commerce?
Peters: No single company can build the future of agentic commerce alone. Establishing trust requires coordination across identity, payments, network security, and interoperability.
Experian contributes the identity verification and trust layer through Human to Agent Binding. Visa helps enable secure payments and trusted transaction protocols. Cloudflare and Akamai enforce this verification layer at the network edge, distinguishing trustworthy, human-bonded agents from rogue bot traffic in real time. Skyfire has spearheaded the open-standard KYAPay initiative, which unifies how an autonomous system communicates intent and executes tokenized transactions.
Together, we are creating a layered framework where identity, authorization, payments, and security work together. That collaboration is essential because trust must be present at every step of the transaction journey.
DJ: Looking ahead, how do you see AI agents changing the way consumers and businesses interact?
Peters: AI agents have the potential to transform commerce in much the same way mobile technology transformed digital experiences. Consumers will be able to delegate more routine tasks, receive highly personalized recommendations, and complete transactions with greater efficiency.
At the same time, businesses will need new ways to verify identity, establish accountability, and manage risk in a world where more interactions are initiated by AI. The companies that succeed will be the ones that can create trusted experiences without adding friction. Crucially, the quickest route to mainstream consumer adoption will be ensuring that AI commerce follows the same liability structures, fraud safeguards, and payment protections that people rely on today. Consumers want comfort and familiarity as we figure out this frontier. I believe agentic commerce represents an entirely new system of interaction between consumers and businesses. Every new system needs a strong foundation, and trust is that foundation. Our focus at Experian is on helping build the trust layer that makes the next generation of AI-driven commerce possible.