NMI has found that only 11% of US consumers have completed a purchase using AI, as trust and control concerns continue to limit agentic adoption.
NMI, a US-based provider of embedded payments infrastructure, has published new survey data indicating that while American consumers are increasingly turning to AI tools at the start of their shopping journeys, few are willing to let those tools complete a transaction on their behalf. The findings, drawn from NMI's Embedded Payments: Agentic Commerce Reality Check survey of 1.000 US adults, point to a gap between the pace of development in agentic commerce and the level of authority consumers are currently prepared to hand over.
Assistance is welcome, autonomy is not
According to the research, 53% of respondents used AI in the past month for research or information searches, and another 33% used it for shopping or to discover new products. The most common role for AI in shopping remains that of a search tool, cited by 39% of respondents.
Consumers reported comfort with AI performing discrete, low-risk tasks. For example, 63% would let AI insert discount codes at checkout, 59% feel comfortable with AI recommending products, and 58% would trust it to fill in a shipping address.
That comfort declines as AI moves closer to decisions on spending. NMI found that 76% of respondents wouldn’t allow AI to complete purchases on their behalf. Among those who would give AI full control, the percentage drops to 10%, while just 3% currently consider AI a personal shopper managing the entire journey. However, Salesforce has reported a 200% rise in consumers using AI as a first step in shopping, a trend NMI's data suggests is not translating into completed, AI-led transactions at the same pace.
Early adopters still need limits
Adoption varies by demographic. Parents with children at home were nearly twice as likely as those without to have used AI for shopping or product discovery, at 48% compared with 25%. In addition, they were almost three times as likely to have completed a transaction via AI, at 19% versus 7%. Even so, only 16% of parents said they would give AI full control over a purchase.
Among Millennials and Gen Z, 48% of each group said they are excited about agentic commerce, yet only 14% and respectively 13%, would extend AI full purchasing authority.
Trust, control, and transparency remain the barriers
Among concerns, payment security was often cited, with 69% of respondents saying they don’t trust AI to process their payments securely, 61% mentioning security and fraud risk, and 84% stating they have never given an AI tool their payment details.
Consumers also want oversight before money moves, with 70% saying it is important to be able to review or override an AI decision before the purchase is made, and 60% worried that AI could spend more than intended.
On accountability, 62% said they would blame the AI provider if a tool completed an unwanted purchase, while 34% would hold the retailer responsible, and 24% would put the blame on the payments provider.
Tiffany Johnson, Chief Product Officer at NMI, said the industry is heading towards autonomy, while most consumers are still looking just for assistance. Earning permission from the customer will matter as much as building the underlying technology. The official added that payment infrastructure will need to carry more context linking identity, authentication, permissions, and secure credentials, so that transactions reflect the consumer’s intention, rather than what an AI system was technically able to do.
