The news: American Express partnered with Anthropic, giving US Resy restaurants discoverability on Claude.

Amex members can prompt Claude to check restaurant eligibility or place recommendations. Cardholders can travel off-platform to venue websites to browse open tables, set alerts, and explore the Resy collection.

How we got here: Amex hinted at broad agentic ambitions for 2026 in its shareholder letter, wagering that getting its membership services on AI surfaces will be a key draw to cardholders. 

Partnering with Anthropic demonstrates how Amex is taking the steps toward agentic commerce by meeting its membership base where they feel comfortable using AI: for discovery. 

Competitors like Stripe and OpenAI had to wheel back Instant Checkout due to users not feeling comfortable letting agents check out on their behalf. Slowly introducing AI platform-based functions like restaurant reservations to members helps Amex steer consumers toward agentic shopping behaviors.

Why this matters: Amex’s membership model is fueling spending. In Q1 2026 earnings, the issuer’s proprietary booking platforms far outstripped total travel and restaurant spend.

Pushing these platforms onto AI chatbots offers even more chances to attract younger consumers, who are more likely to use AI for discovery over older generations, per PayPal’s most recent holiday shopping survey. 

With Tock’s inclusion within Resy’s portfolio, members should also be able to see even more restaurants and wineries surfaced across Claude. 

Implications for issuers: Meeting consumers where they are needs to include AI platforms. 

Notching partnerships across all major AI platforms that consumers frequent is the new frontier. The payment providers with the deepest bench of integrations will pick up the most agentic dollars as AI changes how shoppers discover brands and proceed to purchase.