In the rapidly shifting landscape of modern business, one constant stands out: change. Macroeconomic shifts, geopolitical uncertainties, and most notably, the relentless advance of artificial intelligence—particularly agentic AI—demand that professionals adapt quickly to stay relevant. Those who master this adaptation are the ones who will define the next decade of innovation.

Luke Gebb, head of global innovation at American Express, has spent 25 years navigating these changes. An entrepreneur at heart, he leads Amex Digital Labs, a hub focused on creating new digital products for the company's card members. His role extends beyond experimentation to embedding innovative practices across the entire enterprise, especially around generative AI and agentic commerce.

What Makes a Great Innovator in an AI-Driven World?

Gebb believes that innovation is not about isolated brilliance but about building a culture where people feel free to explore. "It's about getting a culture that people love, where they like to be together, and have the freedom to work on new things," he explains. This freedom is coupled with a deliberate effort to integrate the lab's work with the broader organization, avoiding the trap of becoming an ivory tower R&D unit.

Successful innovators in his team exhibit a specific set of behaviors. They understand which areas of a product need the most support, cultivate strong relationships with business peers, and ensure that their innovations are practical and aligned with real needs. Gebb emphasizes four key practices that professionals at any level can adopt to become effective innovators, particularly in the age of AI.

1. Keep Learning

Gebb stresses the importance of a growth mindset. "You must be super-curious and always wanting to learn," he says. This means acknowledging that you don't have all the answers and being open to new ideas, even when they challenge your existing knowledge. For professionals in AI, this is especially critical as the field evolves daily.

2. Dive into Tech

Understanding emerging technology is non-negotiable. Gebb advises innovators to work deeply with engineers and to grasp what new capabilities make possible. "Being deeply curious about technology and working deeply with engineers will be a huge part of your success," he notes. This hands-on approach helps bridge the gap between technical possibility and business value.

3. Prepare to Fail

Innovation inherently involves risk. Gebb encourages a willingness to try new things and accept failure as a learning opportunity. "You need a willingness to go out and do something risky, so a type of grit or a drive that makes you want to go and put something out there is critical," he says. This mindset is essential for experimenting with AI agents and other nascent technologies.

4. Build Partnerships

In a large enterprise like Amex, success often depends on relationships. "Always being good at building relationships and being able to call in favors is crucial to success," Gebb explains. Innovators must collaborate across departments, gain buy-in from stakeholders, and leverage the collective expertise of the organization.

Putting AI Innovation into Action: Agentic Commerce at Amex

Gebb's team is currently focused on building the foundation for agentic commerce—a future where AI agents act on behalf of consumers to make purchases, book services, and manage transactions. This work falls into three key areas.

Payments: As card members discover products through large language models (LLMs), they will want to buy them directly, and eventually have agents do so on their behalf. Amex recently launched the Amex Agentic Commerce Experiences Developer Kit, a framework to enable trusted transactions in this new environment. To protect users, the company also introduced Amex Agent Purchase Protection, covering charges resulting from AI agent errors.

Offer & Booking Integration: The company ensures its offers and booking mechanisms are available where customers interact with AI models. "We want our card members to encounter those things when they're using their favorite LLM, researching their next trip, or trying to get a restaurant recommendation," Gebb says.

Proprietary Agent Experiences: Amex is building conversational agents within its mobile app and website, allowing customers to chat with an agent about services—from finding a restaurant to booking a table. These features are designed to feel natural and intuitive.

These initiatives are not just experiments; they are strategic steps toward a reality where agentic commerce becomes mainstream. Gebb predicts that within the next 12 months, early use cases will emerge—such as an agent automatically restocking a household item or securing a product upon its release. By 2027, he expects average consumers to regularly encounter scenarios where agentic commerce makes sense.

Preparing for an Uncertain but Inevitable Future

While there is debate about the speed of the agentic transition, Gebb is certain that it will happen. "No one knows for certain if agentic commerce will happen faster or slower than we think," he says. "But what we do know is it absolutely will happen, and that's why you see the whole industry preparing for it and setting out standards and building foundations."

For professionals looking to thrive in this era, the message is clear: embrace curiosity, engage with technology, accept risk, and cultivate partnerships. These are the behaviors that separate those who simply adapt from those who lead the transformation.

Source: ZDNET News