Consumers are happy to take shopping advice from AI, but actually letting it buy something? Not so much

While it’s true shoppers are getting increasingly comfortable using AI to shop, when it comes to handing over their credit card details, things have changed.

According to Feedvisor’s 2026 Consumer Behavior Report, 16% of respondents said they began their shopping journeys on ChatGPT to research products, while just 10% reported using the platform to make a purchase.

And even when AI recommends a product, only 5% of consumers purchase it immediately. Most do their own research first, with 24% turning to Google and 18% checking Amazon before buying something.

The study, which included responses from 1,006 US customers, also found that men are more likely to use AI for product research, with 65% having done so compared to 45% of women.

However, women are considerably more hesitant to hand over purchasing decisions to AI, with 74% saying they would never allow an AI agent to make purchases on their behalf, compared to 50% of men.

At the same time, women are more likely than men to engage in saving habits, including comparing prices (49% versus 39%) and holding out for sales (46% versus 36%).

And that reluctance extends to shoppers overall: 62% believe they would never trust an AI agent to complete a transaction for them, and among the 38% who are open to it, 76% would limit individual purchases to $100 or less.

So why would consumers be comfortable using AI to make shopping suggestions and do research but not actually complete the shopping journey?

Per a recent study by Spreedly, fraud concerns appear to be the biggest obstacle to consumers trusting AI with purchases, with 52% of US adults citing the risk of fraud as a reason they wouldn’t trust AI to handle payments, followed by distrust of AI companies (45%) and concerns about overspending (40%).