Eye on AI: Minty Makes Shopify Integration; Pie Merits AmEx Investment – Digital Transactions
As more consumers consider how artificial-intelligence services can help with the shopping experience, payments and commerce providers are preparing. Minty, an AI shopping app, is now available to merchants on the Shopify Inc. platform. And, Pie Tech Inc. has received more funding, this time from Amex Ventures, to help merchants have better discoverability for AI agents.
Charlotte, N.C.-based Minty says its free app can help merchants connect with its network of millions of shoppers when they are making purchase decisions. Minty can place a cashback offer at the moment of purchase intent, it says, across AI chats, mobile, and in Chrome and Safari browsers. Its page in the Shopify App Store displays compatibility with ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude.
Minty says its app can place Shopify merchants inside the shopping conversation at the moment a shopper is ready to buy. The app’s other benefit is that it enables Shopify merchants to identify and connect with shoppers who visit their sites and leave without making a purchase.
“The traditional shopper journey is going away and merchants can no longer wait for shoppers to come to them,” Rodney Mason, Minty chief marketing officer, says in a statement. “Shopping now happens across search, social, and AI conversations, and the moment a shopper decides to buy can pass in seconds.” This can help stem cart-abandonment rates, a constant challenge for online stores. The average abandonment rate in June, according to Mastercard Inc.’s eCommerce Benchmarks report, was 74.22% in the Americas region.
Minty says it is the first cashback app with a live integration inside ChatGPT with merchant profiles also appearing in Google AI Overviews and Apple Intelligence.
In related news, Pie, which calls itself an AI-enabled growth platform for small businesses, says the investment from Amex Ventures follows its emergence from stealth in June and an earlier funding round of $19.5 million. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.
Founded last year, Pie says it can help merchants with AI discovery and visibility, with customer acquisition via high-intent local channels like Google Maps, and with its Front Desk voice agent to answer calls, make bookings, and respond to customer questions.
