Shoppers trust AI to compare prices, not to buy for them

Shoppers are glad to let AI help them decide what to buy. They are not ready to let it pay. New Circana data shows only 16% of consumers trust an AI agent to buy something without their approval. An AI agent is a program that takes actions for you, such as finding and ordering a product.

What the numbers show

More than half of shoppers, 53%, are comfortable using AI to compare prices. And 34% say AI influences their decisions. So AI is already shaping choices, but the final step stays with the person.

Sally Lyons Wyatt, Circana's Global Chief Advisor for Consumer Goods and Foodservice Insights, put it this way: "People are happy to let AI handle the hassle, just not the moment the money leaves their wallet."

Who shoppers trust

General AI tools like ChatGPT or Gemini earn more trust than the AI assistants built into store websites. Kiara Barrett, Circana's Global Head of Thought Leadership, says shoppers may suspect a store's assistant favors what the store wants to sell. She adds that a trusted retailer does not automatically create a trusted agent. The agent has to earn trust through its own behavior.

What it means for sellers

Barrett says many AI trust problems are really product data, pricing and inventory problems. Her first advice is to get the price and stock information right. If an agent sends someone to a store for a sale that ended yesterday, she says, the experience is simply wrong.

AI shopping also needs more detail than old keyword search. Sellers should spell out pricing, nutrient claims, ingredients, packaging materials and other facts that answer specific questions. Barrett also says to use the same language shoppers type into the search box. For stores with their own assistants, she recommends:

• Explain why a product is recommended.
• Clearly separate sponsored placements.
• Offer alternative options.
• Say when recommendations are limited by the store's own range.

Her short version: "Cite your sources, show your receipts."

What shoppers can do

Using AI to compare prices fits what most shoppers already say they are comfortable with. Approving the purchase yourself keeps you in control of the money.

What happens next

Mars predicts that automatic reordering will become a cornerstone of online shopping, while physical stores stay important for discovery and trial. Barrett expects that kind of automation to be earned task by task, not adopted in one giant leap. The material does not say how quickly trust will grow.