Opinion: To Bot or Not to Bot? Artificial Intelligence Hits Retail

My son needed an adapter for his headphones, so I got online earlier this week to see what I could do. It took just a few minutes for me to have it on its way to his dorm room for arrival the next day. 

When I did a Google search, I had no idea what the difference was in the endless choices that came up, so I just picked one. I got it done. But it was arbitrary. Could the process have been better? 

After all, I got a string of options, could not see any real differences, and so I picked one priced in the middle from a brand that seemed familiar. Then, I started thinking: Did I pick the one that was sponsored because of the marketing? 

Come to think of it, most of the choices looked sponsored. Does that mean the adapter I got may not be a good one? Should I have done more research and read a bunch of reviews, or was it the best choice for my son?

This was, by the way, an item that, with tax and free shipping, was still less than $8. Low stakes for sure. But it got me thinking. 

Mastercard recently introduced what it is calling “Mastercard Agent Pay.”

At a recent tech conference, the company’s Chief Product Officer explained that as consumers move away from searching on browsers like Google toward AI like ChatGPT, card issuers can benefit in a number of ways, including cutting down on fraud. 

The hook: Once you have decided what to buy, Agent Pay takes care of the transaction, maintaining control and therefore upping the security level. 

It seems it knows that consumers like me are starting to question whether a simple search is enough and are ready to make the most of our move to these new shopping resources. 

Decision paralysis is real, exhausting, and often presents as a result of a Google search. AI shopping is more personalized, more convenient, and ultimately gets more precise results for the consumer.

AI can also help find the best coupons and discount deals, lower the number of returns to retailers, and let consumers know which credit card to use for a particular purchase. It will often create a healthier shopping experience. 

The reality is that consumers have come to dread search results that are actually just a screenful of ads before getting to a list that still needs to be sorted through and vetted. Reviews can’t be trusted, and we are often overwhelmed with choices. 

I recently chatted with Amy Nelson in one of her workshops for The Riveter, and as we discussed how technology is evolving, she shared how her own shopping habits are changing. 

“Google’s not doing it for you, but when you go onto AI, whenever you search, for example, I said, I needed to buy a mattress for my daughter. And I asked ChatGPT to tell me what was the best mattress for a girl growing from ages 10 to 15, et cetera.”

“And it gave me three examples. And I don’t think that those were paid-for examples because I’d never heard of the mattress company I ended up going with. And I love that because it feels more authentic.”

Amy said she experienced personalization and trust, and clearly felt more secure when she finally bought the mattress. 

Credit card issuers say AI makes shopping online a seamless transaction in a more controlled environment. Mastercard says its Agent Pay can reduce fraud by tracking the entire process of a transaction using biometrics, cryptography, and tokens. Instead of a 16-digit credit card number, people would have a unique digital token.

The FBI’s Internet Crime Report says people lost a record $16.6 billion (yeah, billion with a B) to online scammers in 2024. That’s 33% more dollars lost than the year before.

AI agents can protect consumers from fraud by making the online shopping experience more secure, say card companies. Preventing fraud saves money and helps the bottom line. Remember, some of that bottom-line savings from blocking fraud can come back to consumers as well. 

The benefits aside, there are some serious privacy concerns. The more information AI has about you, your shopping habits, your family, your financial resources, etc, the better and more personalized your results will be. In other words, the more candid you are willing to be with your AI of choice, the more optimized your results will be when you go shopping. 

Online customers have to trust that the shopping process is safe. Sixty-six percent of consumers surveyed say they would refuse letting AI make purchases on their behalf even if it can get them a better deal, according to recent data. That same study found that 58% of survey participants said they worried about how AI handles their personal data. 

And their worries don’t end there. Hackers and bad actors could potentially gain access to systems and manipulate transactions to their greedy hearts’ content. 

Card companies are well aware of this, and they’re working out solutions. In the future, consumers may be able to put up guardrails and permissions to limit AI to purchases, say, under $100. 

Of course, Mastercard is not alone. Visa has its Intelligent Commerce platform and PayPal has its Agent Toolkit. Card companies are going to seize the opportunity, as they should. Consumers, too, are curious and see the opportunity, even if they have valid concerns. 

But timing can be delicate, and consumers can be fickle. Trends that seem like they will change the world sometimes flame out. Remember the promise of digital printing going mainstream? 

For AI shopping to work, consumers need to trust the systems enough to engage and let go of some of the human controls they have right now. Building that comfort level and trust takes time that no bot can accelerate. AI shopping is on the brink, but of what, we don’t yet know.