PayPal Q3 Earnings Call: AI Customer Service Handles Over 24 Million Inquiries This Year, BNPL Payment Volume Up 25%

AI Customer Service and Agentic Commerce

On its Q3 2026 earnings call held on October 27, PayPal disclosed that its AI customer service agent has handled over 24 million user inquiries this year, covering 190 countries and six languages. CEO Enrique Lores said the company is preparing for AI agents to participate in shopping and is working with AI companies such as Meta to integrate PayPal into personal agent scenarios. He noted that when a consumer agent places an order with a merchant agent, both sides need to verify a "real, payable consumer" and a "real merchant with inventory."

Payment Business Performance

On the payments side, buy now, pay later (BNPL) payment volume grew 25% year over year, Pay with Venmo transaction volume rose 43%, and Braintree processing volume increased 10%. Venmo debit card monthly active accounts reached 6.7 million, up more than 85% year over year. CFO Jamie Miller said U.S. branded checkout improved for the third consecutive quarter, but global online branded checkout grew only 1% at constant currency; changes in European tariffs dragged down branded checkout growth by about 70 basis points.

Organizational Restructuring

Alongside its AI investments, PayPal is shrinking its organization. According to earnings materials, PayPal has cut more than 2,000 positions and eliminated three layers of management in most departments, aiming to achieve at least $1.5 billion in annualized gross savings within two to three years, with a significant portion to be reinvested in the business. Management said financial services—including BNPL, debit cards, credit cards, and merchant lending—are expected to contribute more than 20% of transaction profit dollars in 2026.

Source: https://www.pymnts.com/news/artificial-intelligence/2026/paypal-advances-ai-plans-bnpl-payment-volume-rises-25percent/