Paytm’s Sharma says AI agents could replace apps for complex tasks by 2027

Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma expects trusted AI agents to gain deeper operating-system access by end-2026 and become mainstream in 2027, potentially changing how consumers discover, transact with and manage businesses digitally.

— Source publishedMon, 7 Sept, 2026, 11:17 IST·First seen Mon, 7 Sept, 2026, 11:22 IST·Source YourStory

What happened

Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma predicts AI agents will become mainstream by 2027, replacing apps for complex digital tasks. He expects operating systems to

Key facts

  • 2026
  • 2027

Why this matters

Corporate development teams should evaluate partnerships or acquisitions in AI-agent orchestration, secure OS-level access, consent management and transaction APIs before agent-mediated commerce becomes a strategic channel.

What to watch

  • Major mobile operating systems launch broadly available third-party agent permissions for payments, shopping and account actions.
  • Banks and payment networks establish standardized delegated-payment, tokenization and liability rules for consumer AI agents.
  • Large retailers expose authenticated APIs for inventory, loyalty, checkout, returns and delivery changes.
  • Consumer adoption of agent-led recurring purchases and customer-service resolutions exceeds app-based usage in selected categories.
  • Regulatory guidance clarifies responsibility for agent mistakes, deceptive recommendations, data usage and unauthorized transactions.
  • Search, marketplace and retail-media platforms introduce paid placement or optimization products targeted at AI agent recommendations.
  • Build agent-ready product, price, availability, promotion, policy and fulfillment feeds with structured, real-time APIs.
  • Define an agent transaction framework covering customer authentication, delegated authority, payment limits, order confirmation, refunds, substitutions and audit trails.
  • Treat retailer-owned first-party data and loyalty identity as strategic defenses against agent disintermediation.
  • Test conversational and agent-assisted journeys for replenishment, customer service, order tracking and returns before deploying autonomous checkout.
  • Measure emerging agent-channel economics separately: conversion, basket composition, margin leakage, promotion exposure, return rates and customer ownership.
  • Negotiate platform and payment-partner terms early to preserve merchant visibility, attribution and consent rights in agent-driven transactions.

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