PayPal’s AI Surprise: Why It’s More Than Just a Fintech Stock
Some traders panic-sold their PayPal 
PYPL shares after the company issued modest current-year revenue guidance. However, a thorough PYPL stock analysis indicates that this is a terrific dip-buying opportunity. If you’re bullish about artificial intelligence, consider investing in PayPal for the long term.
You might have thought of PayPal stock as a fintech stock but not an AI stock. That’s actually a misconception, though. As we’ll discover, PayPal fits into both the fintech and AI categories, so open your mind to the possibilities as PayPal will surprise you with its AI connections.
PayPal’s First AI Investment
If you don’t believe that PYPL stock is an AI stock, then check this out. According to a TechCrunch report, PayPal (or more precisely, PayPal Ventures) and StepStone Capital co-led a Series C funding round to invest in conversational generative AI platform Rasa.
In a separate report, TechCrunch described Rasa’s claim to fame:
“Rasa is a startup that claims to have developed the infrastructure to give developers at large enterprises the ability to build ‘robust’ generative conversational AI assistants so that those interactions feel more personal and meaningful to users.”
PayPal Ventures partner Alan Du clarified, “[W]e are making our first AI investment in Rasa because we believe it is the best platform for enterprises to develop robust conversational AI.”
The phrase “first AI investment” seems to imply that PayPal is open to making more AI investments. So, stay tuned as PayPal may soon issue more announcements about this.
PayPal Harnesses the Power of AI
Don’t get the wrong idea. PayPal isn’t just investing in AI startups. The company is also enhancing its own products/services with AI functionalities.
PayPal elaborated on this topic in the company’s “Six New Innovations” press release. Some of the company’s innovations are directly related to AI technology.
For example, the company disclosed that the “new PayPal checkout will… leverage AI to get smarter and faster over time.” This will be part of PayPal’s efforts to ” massively” accelerate its “checkout process.”
Also, PayPal is introducing a Smart Receipts feature to shoppers. This feature “harnesses AI to predict what they may want to buy next from that merchant” so that “merchants will be able to include a personalized recommendation along with a cashback reward offer on the receipt.”
PayPal is launching CashPass feature in the PayPal app. CashPass provides shoppers with access to cashback offers. There’s an AI connection here, as CashPass uses AI to “organize personalized offers for customers based on [their] shopping behaviors.”
PYPL Stock: A Confident Fintech Investment With AI Connections
Dip buyers should be grateful, not alarmed, that PayPal stock is out of favor. As PayPal continues to develop new, leading-edge products, the company’s value proposition only seems to improve over time.
Besides, PayPal is making it crystal clear that the company wants to invest in AI and add AI functionalities to its services. Therefore, the future looks bright for PYPL stock and today is a great day to buy shares while they’re down.
On the date of publication, David Moadel did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
David Moadel has provided compelling content – and crossed the occasional line – on behalf of Motley Fool, Crush the Street, Market Realist, TalkMarkets, TipRanks, Benzinga, and (of course) InvestorPlace.com. He also serves as the chief analyst and market researcher for Portfolio Wealth Global and hosts the popular financial YouTube channel Looking at the Markets.
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