Only 23% Trust AI to Make Payments, Visa Survey Finds

Consumers are using AI throughout the shopping process, but many aren’t ready to hand over the keys when it’s time to pay, according to new research commissioned by Visa.

A Harris Poll survey conducted for the global payments network found that less than one-quarter of U.S. adults (23%) trust GenAI to act on their behalf when making a payment.

The survey, conducted May 26–28, included 2,065 U.S. adults. Roughly half of those respondents were asked about each payment brand tested.

It may not be surprising that people aren’t overly enthusiastic about putting their payment information in the hands of an AI agent. But Visa believes consumers may grow more comfortable with the idea when a familiar payment company is part of the process.

Oliver Jenkyn, Group President at Visa, said AI could reshape how people find, buy, and pay for goods and services, much as eCommerce and mobile commerce did. But he said widespread adoption of agentic commerce will depend on trust, with consumers likely to favor familiar payment brands and experiences when allowing AI to shop for them.

If Jenkyn’s prediction proves correct, Visa could play an important role in the future of agentic commerce. Among respondents asked about Visa, 61% said they would trust the company to handle agentic transactions.

Visa’s most direct rival, Mastercard, is also studying how consumers feel about letting AI make shopping and payment decisions for them.

U.S.-issued Visa and Mastercard credit, debit, and prepaid cards generated nearly $9.99 trillion in purchase volume in 2025, according to the Nilson Report. Visa products accounted for $7.028 trillion of that volume, while Mastercard products accounted for $2.958 trillion.

Mastercard released its own research on September 8. While the study covered similar ground as Visa’s, it shone a light on how parents and their teenage children view the rise of agentic commerce.

Teens Are More Open to AI-Run Shopping

Source: Mastercard/Opinium, June–July 2026

Mastercard commissioned Opinium to survey 13,000 parent-and-teen pairs, or 26,000 respondents in total, during June and July. Participants came from 13 international markets, including France, Germany, Spain, and the U.K.

That is a much different group from the U.S. adults surveyed for Visa, so the findings are not an apples-to-apples comparison. Even so, Mastercard’s research suggests teens may be more willing than their parents to hand some shopping decisions over to AI.

More than one-quarter of teens (27%) said they would be likely to use a fully AI-run assistant that recommends products, chooses among options, and completes purchases under rules they set, while only 16% of parents said the same.

Some teens may even trust AI’s shopping advice more than recommendations from people they know.

Nearly one-third of teens (31%) said they would trust an AI product recommendation over one from a friend. Almost one-quarter (23%) said they would trust AI over advice from their parents.

Like Visa, Mastercard sees trust as essential to the future of agentic commerce.

Magnus Lindkvist, the lead futurist who contributed to Mastercard’s report, noted that consumers have repeatedly changed where they place their trust as shopping evolved from marketplaces and malls to catalogs and online checkout.

“Every great shift in commerce has been, at heart, a shift in trust,” Lindkvist said.