Bolt & Palantir Kickstart an AI-Powered Checkout Revolution
Checkout technology firm Bolt has partnered with AI software provider Palantir Technologies to launch what the two companies are calling ‘Checkout 2.0’.
At the core of it, this partnership is aiming to transform how online retailers handle the checkout process.
With the new system, Bolt and Palantir are hoping to replace traditional static checkout forms with more adaptive, more personalised pages that can respond to the behaviour and preferences of individual customers.
Rather than presenting identical interfaces to all customers, Checkout 2.0 can help online retailers to tailor the experience based on each shopper's purchase history.
It’s a process that might sound familiar to frequent Amazon users, but Bolt & Palantir are hoping to bring this tool to online retailers of all shapes and sizes.
For merchants, it could be a powerful tool for boosting conversion and reducing processing costs. For shoppers, it could mean a faster, smarter, more intuitive experience with native crypto support and real-time payment flexibility.
“This partnership brings together the scale and shopper intelligence of Bolt's platform with Palantir's proven decisioning systems to deliver superior outcomes across every transaction,” explains Ted Mabrey, Global Head of Commercial at Palantir.
“Checkout 2.0 represents the best of both worlds—and the future of commerce personalisation.”
The importance of data
Through its work with a long list of high profile retailers, including Revolve, Kendra Scott and Benefit, Bolt has developed a database it calls the ‘Universal Shopper Network’.
Since the company was founded in 2014, it has logged the data of more than 80 million consumers across the US, which helps the firm to create a well-rendered picture of each shopper and their habits.
This data will be the engine of Checkout 2.0.
On the other side of the equation, Palantir’s own technology will be used to process this data. Its advanced decisioning engine will be put to work, helping Checkout 2.0 to change digital checkout pages in real-time.
“Our partnership with Palantir addresses one of the biggest challenges in modern commerce: turning mountains of shopper data into real-time, actionable intelligence,” said Ryan Breslow, Founder & CEO of Bolt.
How Checkout 2.0 will work in practice
By design, Checkout 2.0 makes checkout pages unique, depending on the person that uses a site connected to it.
In practice, a customer who often buys beauty products on their mobile phone — and prefers to use Apple Pay when buying — will be presented with a checkout flow that automatically highlights this payment method.
The system will also upsell additional items to customers and present them with loyalty features, all without needing extra information or having to navigate away from their purchase.
"Operational integration of Bolt and Palantir reduces friction for shoppers and complexity for merchants while providing a foundation to accelerate retail into the age of AI," explains Ted.
How Checkout 2.0 was built
The technical architecture of Checkout 2.0 incorporates a few key components.
Each shopper has a profile that is updated any time they complete a transaction, as well as how they complete said transaction.
This information is fed into the payment method that Checkout 2.0 presents customers with.
Interestingly, the system also includes native cryptocurrency payment support, helping customers use cryptocurrency in transactions.
This feature pulls from Bolt’s ‘SuperApp’ — an all-in-one crypto hub.
Checkout 2.0 represents the best of both worlds—and the future of commerce personalisation.
Rolling out the new tech
Bolt plans to integrate the new checkout system across enterprise retailers using Palantir's platform for scaling.
Together, the pair will be able to reach a huge array of retailers and customers.
For Ryan, though, it is more important that Checkout 2.0 has the potential to transform the way online shopping works.
“Together, we're tackling outdated, one-size-fits-all checkout experiences and replacing them with a smarter, more adaptive flow that actually responds to individual preferences and behaviour,” he says.
“This is not just an upgrade—it's a reimagining of what online checkout can be.”
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