AmEx Keeps a Tight Rein on AI As It Posts Record Revenue

Agentic fever may have recently loomed in the background of digital payments, but American Express’s top executives early Friday insisted the payment company is keeping a tight leash on the technology. “We’re not going to allow agents to run rogue through our system. That’s not going to happen,” said AmEx chief executive Steve Squeri during a call with equity analysts. “We’ll be selectively looking at agents and how they act.”

But AmEx itself is far from backing away from agentic technology, particularly as the company sees the technology reinforcing ties to cardholders. “There will be opportunities to embed our own agents within AI platforms,” he noted as AmEx presented its third-quarter results. “Cardmember engagement is so important to us. Engagement leads to a better outcome for us.”

The key, Squeri said, is to build on the trust AmEx has built up with cardholdersn over the years. “Our ambition is to make American Express the trusted agentic partner,” he said. “We need to know what the agent is, who authorized it, and make sure purchase intent is preserved.” AmEx’s position as both issuer and acquirer, he added, puts the company in a “unique position to connect cardmembers, agents, and merchants.” AI, he noted, offers “a level of personalization on a scale we couldn’t achieve before.”

Agentic commerce in the past year or so has grown in prominence as consumers use the bits of code to shop and pay online on their behalf. With the trend has come some concern about so-called rogue agents that could violate spending limits or otherwise act against consumers’ interests, while the consumer remains responsible for the purchase. In this respect, AmEx sees further opportunity, Squeri said during the call, which was held to discuss the company’s third-quarter results. “It’s still early in the game,” he said. “But the direction is clear. Our customer remains the cardmember.”

For the quarter, AmEx recorded just over $20 billion in revenue, a quarterly record, Squeri said, and up 9% year-over-year. Revenue year to date came to $58.6 billion, up 10%. The company recorded $3.71 billion in net income for the quarter, fully 28% more than a year ago, while for the year so far the net totaled $9.79 billion, up 17%. Included in the revenue figures is discount charges, the fees merchants pay when they accept an AmEx card. These totaled $10.17 billion, up 8%.

Restaurant spending, a key sector for AmEx, grew 9% in the quarter, as Squeri noted the vertical “will continue to help drive growth for us.”