More than half of consumers interested in using Agentic AI tools for shopping

Consumers are becoming more interested in leveraging AI agentic tools, AI-powered assistants that research, compare, and can make purchases when shopping. 

New research from Commerce, a data-centric provider of an open, AI-driven commerce ecosystem, and PayPal found that 64 percent of UK consumers are interested in trying AI agentic shopping tools, although many remain hesitant to give AI complete autonomy over their purchasing decisions.

The study findings, which included a survey of 1,000 online shoppers in the UK and 2,000 across the US and Australia, indicated that while consumers are increasingly open to using AI while shopping, a wider uptake of agentic tools will depend on merchants, technology providers and payment companies building trusted, transparent and secure experiences.

According to the study, only 21 percent of UK consumers currently use AI tools to help with their online shopping, although 70 percent would like to use them in the future to help find the retailer offering the best price (31 percent), to make it easier to find all available promotions and discounts for a product (28 percent) and to receive alerts when a product is cheaper elsewhere (23 percent). 

Among the consumers who don't yet use AI for shopping, 62 percent stated they plan to try AI-powered tools within the next year. Although shoppers remain open to using AI for the discovery of products as well as for comparison, many concerns remain. 43 percent stated they worry about AI completing a purchase without their approval, with 39 percent sharing they are concerned about bank account security breaches, 32 percent worried about buying the wrong product, and 29 percent about privacy and data breaches. 

Expectations of AI tools were also high: 83 percent of consumers say AI shopping tools must offer payment security that is at least as good as existing methods. Consumers were also found to be equally trusting of providers of AI agentic shopping tools, with trust relatively evenly split between tech companies such as Google and Apple, online payment providers like PayPal, marketplaces like Amazon and Etsy, and traditional payment providers including Visa and Mastercard.

Factors like accuracy and transparency were also key concerns for consumers. One in five non-users question the reliability of the information AI shopping tools provide. Among all consumers surveyed, 55 percent stated that sponsored content and advertising must be clearly identifiable, and 46 percent believe brands and retailers should not be allowed to pay for preferential treatment within AI shopping tools.

“The report reveals that UK shoppers see the potential for agentic commerce to help them compare products, identify cost savings, and find available discounts,” said Andrew Norman, GM EMEA at Commerce, in a statement. “Retailers have a prime opportunity, provided they can build trust and transparency into the experience.” 

“This means creating shopping journeys that help consumers make informed purchasing decisions while retaining control over the checkout process and ensuring the recommendations they receive are accurate, transparent and reliable. Get those fundamentals right, and agentic commerce can provide significant value for retailers and consumers alike.”