In the next phase of the digital economy, AI could become an active economic agent. It spends money it hasn’t earned on products it won’t use. Driven by human instructions, AI will act independently, becoming “agentic” – i.e. making autonomous decisions when faced with new situations. Not since the advent of driverless cars have we entrusted technology with such authority. And consumers are showing greater interest than you might think.
The average consumer is willing to spend around $200 via an AI agent, according to our latest research.
Of course, trust is central. Just as a parent considers the maturity of their child before sending them to the grocery store with $20, so, too does the modern consumer weigh the reliability of an AI tool to do so with $200. By 2030, AI agents could bring in $1 trillion for the US B2C retail market. The opportunity is enormous.
As part of our commitment to helping you thrive in the digital economy, we commissioned research into current attitudes on allowing AI to spend money online. Dive into our concise, beginner-friendly report, “Peak Season 2025: The debut of agentic commerce?” for the full insights.
Or, read on for an overview of the findings to inform your agentic commerce strategy in 2026.
Highlights of the agentic commerce report
- Half of shoppers (47%) said they were likely to use an AI agent to buy a Christmas present in 2025
- Three quarters (72%) of 25-34-year-olds feel comfortable allowing an AI agent to spend their money
- The average US consumer is willing to spend up to $223 via AI agent
- Brits are willing to spend up to £204.53 through an AI agent
Overall, consumers feel ambivalent yet curious about using AI agents for shopping online. Half (48%) felt comfortable letting an AI agent make a purchase for them, with 52% not comfortable.
Why would someone want to use an AI agent?
Our research shows the main motivations for using AI agents to assist with gift shopping are to stay in control of finances and save time.
The top reasons:
- Always getting the best price or deal: 33%
- Helping me budget and avoid overspending: 30%
- To save time: 27%
Convenience is a major pull factor. With the number of digital tasks ever-increasing, people are eager to find ways to cut down on the mental burden. Plus, the rising cost of living adds an extra push to spend less, wherever possible.
Agentic commerce represents the opportunity to bring a new equilibrium to online shopping – as our CEO Guillaume Pousaz pointed out at Money 20/20 this year. Consumers want to apply available discount codes quickly and easily, with large language models and other agentic assistants poised to provide them more efficiently than existing methods.
Read the report to find the product categories consumers were most interested in using AI agents to buy.
Who wants to find your products and services with agentic AI?
One in four (25%) consumers have used AI to compare product reviews, yet just 12% have used it to find where products are available. This shows some hesitancy in looking to AI for buying tasks.
Interest in AI for everyday purchasing cannot be taken as a given. Consumers will only adopt and return to technology which helps them meet their goals, matches their values, and feels trustworthy. A curiosity factor is enough to motivate a certain type of consumer – but not everyone, and not in perpetuity.
Our research found young men in the United States are the demographic most likely to feel comfortable using an AI agent to make a purchase. Age group and geographical location had the greatest impact on willingness to use such technology. However, gender also played a role.
Men express greater sense of ease about an agentic personal shopper
The gender divide is slightly more pronounced in the US compared with the UK. Namely, two thirds (67%) of men in the States were at least somewhat comfortable handing over spending power to an AI program, compared with just under half (47%) of US women. In the UK, where eagerness to delegate purchasing power to an agent is lower in general, just two in five (42%) of men in Britain would be comfortable compared with 36% of women.
What consumers need to trust agents with their funds
At this early stage of AI agents handling money, consumers’ greatest concern was “losing control of what’s purchased” – a worry held by 42% of respondents. This is unlikely to become a real problem, as agents will have built-in safeguards to ensure they can’t go on a wild spending spree. There is always an approval stage, so the human remains in control.
Consumers told us what would make them comfortable letting AI spend their money:
- If I could trust it was totally secure: 31%
- Easy refunds/returns process: 30%
- Spending limits: 28%
People need a few, simple reassurances. Security and spending controls are such critical matters, that they are top priorities for technologists creating agentic protocols. By the time your customers are using agentic payment flows, security and spending limits will be table stakes. It’s your job, then, to do what you can to educate your customers on how such data security features work. This can be as simple as communicating which data you do and do not have access to as a result of connecting with the customer’s AI agent.
Looking ahead: The next five years
Many consumers expect that AI shopping will soon become part of everyday life. On average, respondents expect AI to handle roughly one-fifth (21%) of their monthly spending, five years from now.
Among 18-34-year-olds, that rises to 31% of regular monthly purchases. This includes buying food, clothes, subscriptions, and so on.
Read more: Chargebacks in agentic commerce – How merchants can stay ahead
How to participate in the agentic economy
In addition to updating your communications and messaging around your checkout, there is some technical work to be done.
You can greet AI agents at your online store by ensuring you have:
- Machine-readable catalogs
- Real-time pricing APIs
- Clear delivery and refund policies
- Secure digital payments
Find a further nine neat takeaways at the end of the full report.
Checkout.com is partnering to build the agentic economy
No single organization can build agentic commerce alone. We’re working closely with Visa, Mastercard, Google, OpenAI, and others to create trusted rails, shared protocols, and secure payment flows that allow AI to transact safely and transparently on behalf of people.
At Checkout.com, we’ve always believed the best payment is invisible – it works quickly and smoothly as part of the trustworthy checkout journey. As agentic AI becomes a new shopping channel, we’re here to help build the secure, resilient infrastructure it needs. As we continue to participate in the development of agentic commerce, we know that no two agentic strategies will look the same. Your business is unique, and your payment strategy should be purpose-built to drive your bottom line.
The future of commerce is intelligent, secure, and intuitive. It’s already arriving – and we’re here to support you.
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