Trust is the real currency of AI shopping, a new study finds

AI shopping assistants are ready to do your buying for you. The question is whether you would let them — and a new study says the answer depends less on how fast the technology is than on how much you trust it. Synchrony and Oxford Economics released findings from their AI in Commerce research on September 30, showing that trust, not convenience, decides how much of the shopping journey consumers will hand to an AI agent. The headline finding: 82 percent of consumers rank keeping their data secure as a top priority, ahead of transparency about how data is used at 77 percent — while saving time trails at 58 percent. AI shopping is here; trust is the gatekeeper.

What shoppers actually want from AI assistants

The clearest signal in the data is what unlocks adoption: fraud protection. Two-thirds of consumers say they would use AI more if it came with fraud protection built in, according to the study. Shoppers are already comfortable letting AI handle the low-stakes chores — 79 percent would let an assistant automatically apply discounts, and 74 percent would let it apply loyalty points or rewards.

Comfort fades as the stakes rise. Just over half of respondents are open to an AI recommending a new credit card, and 48 percent would let one check whether they are prequalified. Only 43 percent are comfortable letting AI purchase up to a preset limit, and 37 percent would let it automatically reorder products they use regularly. The pattern is consistent: shoppers treat AI like a capable intern for research and discounts, not a signatory for spending.

"Consumers are telling us the future of AI shopping will be won by the most trusted experience," Synchrony chief AI officer Nimrod Barak said in the release announcing the findings. Margaux McLoughlin, research manager for thought leadership at Oxford Economics, put the condition more bluntly: "trust is a prerequisite for agentic commerce adoption." According to the study, companies that build in protection, approval steps, and accountability from the start will be best positioned to earn consumer confidence as AI moves from comparing products to buying them.

The comfort gap: small buys versus big ones

The research draws a sharp line between browsing and buying. For purchases under fifty dollars, 47 percent of consumers would let AI suggest options for review and approval, and 34 percent would let it act on its own based on their preferences and past behavior. But scale the price up and the comfort collapses: 46 percent say they would not use AI at all for purchases of five thousand dollars or more.

Who the assistant works for matters almost as much as what it does. Consumers say they would most likely trust an AI shopping assistant from a technology company (58 percent), a retailer or brand (56 percent), a general AI platform (55 percent), or their own primary bank (55 percent) — while a bank they have no existing relationship with drops to 38 percent. Familiarity also breeds delegation: people already using AI are far less likely than non-users to say they simply prefer making shopping decisions themselves, 34 percent versus 52 percent. Younger shoppers are leading the way — 39 percent of Gen Z respondents are willing to let AI handle payment details, compared with 15 percent of boomers.

What this means for retailers — and your wallet

For retailers, the study reads as a product roadmap: lead with fraud prevention, keep the human in the approval loop, and start with low-risk tasks like search, comparison, and discounts before asking for the keys to the cart. Synchrony says it is already building financing, rewards, and offer features designed to stay recognizable when an AI agent does the shopping, and working with industry groups on standards for transparency and consumer control.

But the trust-first pitch lands in a market that is also tightening the screws on AI agents. Apple, for example, is moving to lock down what AI agents can see on the Mac, as we recently reported — a sign that the same consumers being asked to trust shopping assistants are being told by the biggest platforms to guard their data closely. That tension is the real story: the industry wants agents with more access, while users want agents with more limits. The Synchrony findings suggest the industry will only get the access if it proves the protections first.

The study pairs a survey of two thousand U.S. consumers fielded in May 2026 with eight in-depth interviews with senior payments, retail, and technology leaders, conducted with Oxford Economics. For more on how AI is reshaping everyday tech, see our AI News coverage.

Sources: Synchrony press release; PR Newswire.