Shoppers Trust Banks Over Retailers to Let AI Buy

Shoppers Trust Banks Over Retailers to Let AI Buy

Shoppers Trust Banks Over Retailers to Let AI Buy

https://www.pymnts.com/news/artificial-intelligence/2026/shoppers-trust-banks-over-retailers-to-let-ai-buy/

Publish Date: 2026-01-28 04:03:00

Source Domain: www.pymnts.com

  • AI Usage in Online Shopping: Today’s digital shoppers are willing to use artificial intelligence tools to help find products online but are reluctant to let AI fully manage purchases for them.

  • Trust in AI Agents: Consumers express greater trust in AI assistants from established payment systems like traditional banks and credit card networks over those offered by merchants. They are more comfortable letting traditional finance institutions manage autonomous buying, emphasizing control and the ability to reverse mistakes.

  • Marketplace Adoption: Leading companies like Amazon and Instacart are developing agentic AI to streamline online shopping by enabling AI to complete purchases based on pre-set parameters, but consumer adoption is still slow.

  • Merchant Challenges: Merchants face challenges in gaining consumer trust in the autonomous features of their AI assistants due to preferences for retaining control over purchase decisions via established payment systems.

  • Evolving Consumer Behavior: Despite initial hesitations, more people are comfortable using generative AI tools for routine tasks, suggesting a move towards greater acceptance of fully autonomous agentic AI in the future.

  • Industry Standardization Efforts: Companies like Google are working on developing standards for AI agents to reduce the need for building from scratch, potentially facilitating broader adoption of agentic commerce.