Next year's shopping experience is about to shift big time. Major payment providers are teaming up with AI companies to reshape how transactions work and customer interactions happen. This isn't just incremental—it's a fundamental shift in the competitive landscape. As these alliances form, we'll see smarter, more personalized checkout experiences become standard rather than novelty. The race is on to own this layer, and the stakes are higher than ever. The companies that crack the AI-powered payment experience early will have serious advantages in customer retention and conversion rates.