How Big Tech’s XR Push Could Redefine Both Payments and AI

The connected economy might be making a jump from end-users’ hands to their faces.

That is, if Big Tech’s biggest representatives are to be believed. On Thursday (Dec. 12), Google introduced a new Android operating system (OS) built for extended reality (XR) devices like headsets and glasses, citing “years of investment” that will “transform how you watch, work and explore.”

Extended reality (XR) — an umbrella term encompassing virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) — continues to redefine how digital and physical worlds interact.

Google’s XR OS was created in collaboration with Samsung and will first launch on headsets built by Samsung code-named “Project Moohan,” taken from the Korean word for “infinite.”

Project Moohan joins the ranks of multiple XR headsets already available to consumers and businesses, such as Meta’s Quest 3 headset and Orion augmented reality (AR) glasses, the Apple Vision Pro headset and other products such as the XREAL Air AR glasses.

On a fundamental level, the XR landscape presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for payments innovation. XR applications in gaming, eCommerce, healthcare, education, the workplace and beyond will all demand seamless and secure payment solutions that match the promise of these technologies.

Read more: AR and VR Have Potential to Reshape Wearable Tech Landscape

Why Wearable Tech Needs Seamless Payments

As XR grows, payments are likely to no longer be a mere utility but a critical enabler of its success. By addressing the unique needs of immersive environments, payment providers can enable new business models, build trust with users and redefine the boundaries of commerce in virtual and augmented realities.

XR environments pose unique challenges for traditional payment systems. XR users expect transactions to blend naturally into their immersive experiences. Whether purchasing digital goods in a metaverse store or accessing subscription-based AR learning modules, payments must occur without disrupting the flow.

The PYMNTS Intelligence study, “The Online Features Driving Consumers to Shop With Brands, Retailers or Marketplaces,” revealed that consumers expect interactive, customized commerce experiences.

PYMNTS Intelligence research also found that a significant share of consumers are eager for VR to replicate the experience of brick-and-mortar shopping. Specifically, among the 95% of consumers who own or have access to at least one internet-connected device, one-third expressed a high level of interest in using VR technology to shop and buy retail products available in physical stores from their home or office.

Voice-command payments, biometric authentication and in-app blockchain wallets can offer frictionless transactions that fit XR’s immersive environments, whereas traditional methods like cash are decidedly not a good fit. The XR world often spans multiple platforms, devices and applications, necessitating payment solutions that operate across this fragmented landscape.

Plus, as XR expands globally, payment systems must accommodate diverse currencies and local regulations.

Read more: Meta Says It’s Solving AR Experiences — Who Will Solve AR Payments?

XR Emerges as a Way to Leverage Spatial Data for AI Systems

Certain observers believe that one of the bigger themes behind the tech sector’s push toward XR environments is the fact that XR systems rely on real-time spatial mapping to create interactive environments, using advanced sensors like LiDAR, cameras and motion detectors to map physical spaces with precision. This data is invaluable for AI (artificial intelligence) models.

AI thrives on diverse, high-quality datasets, and spatial data from XR environments captures real-world nuances — depth, object positions and movement patterns — at a scale and precision that can be unattainable via traditional methods.

Spatial data from XR can help AI systems gain context about the physical world, such as objects, their relationships and how users interact with them. This in turn helps to enhance AI’s own ability to make decisions based on environment-specific factors.

For tech companies, XR is more than an immersive medium — it can serve as a data generation engine for AI systems. By leveraging spatial data, XR helps to accelerate the training, deployment and performance of AI in real-world applications. As the XR ecosystem grows, the synergy between AI and XR holds the potential to reshape industries, bridge physical and digital realms, and drive innovation on a global scale.