Australians embrace AI shopping tools, not checkout

Research published by Commerce and PayPal Australia suggests Australian consumers are open to agentic AI shopping tools, but far less willing to let AI take part in checkout.

The survey of 1,000 Australian online shoppers found that 63% were interested in trying an agentic AI shopping tool, while only 4% wanted AI assistance at the point of payment.

The results point to a divide in how shoppers view artificial intelligence across the buying journey. Consumers appear more comfortable using AI for product discovery and comparison than for completing a transaction, where control and security remain more sensitive issues.

That distinction is likely to matter for retailers and payments groups shaping how AI enters online commerce. The data suggests consumers may accept tools that narrow choices or surface recommendations, but still want to make the final purchase decision themselves.

Existing users are already reporting practical gains. Among respondents who currently use AI tools when shopping online, 53% said they spend less time looking for products than they do through traditional methods.

Even so, uptake remains limited. Only one in five Australians surveyed said they already use AI tools when shopping online, indicating that interest in the technology is running ahead of current behaviour.

There is also evidence that this gap may narrow. Among non-users, 57% said they may try AI shopping tools within the next year, while 79% of all respondents said they wanted AI to play a greater role in their future online shopping experiences.

Trust and security

Trust emerged as a central issue. While 45% of Australian online shoppers said they expected technology groups such as Google and Apple to be first to launch agentic AI shopping tools, payment providers were seen as the safer option.

According to the research, 38% of respondents said they trusted payment providers such as PayPal most to deliver these tools safely. That suggests consumers distinguish between who may introduce AI shopping products first and who they would trust to manage the financial side of those services.

Security expectations were also high. The survey found that 79% of respondents expected agentic AI shopping tools to match or exceed the payment security standards they already use today.

Those findings suggest wider use of AI in commerce may depend less on novelty than on whether companies can convince shoppers that automated assistance will not reduce oversight or expose them to greater risk. For businesses, the pressure may be strongest at the point where browsing turns into payment.

Shannon Ingrey, Vice President and General Manager for APAC at Commerce, said the results show a measured shift in consumer sentiment rather than blanket acceptance of automation.

"Aussies are warming up to the idea of AI helping them shop smarter," Ingrey said.

"However, they're not ready to let it shop for them just yet. For retailers, that's a big opportunity. They have to make sure their product data and content are rich enough for AI to compare and recommend."

Retail implications

The results underline a practical challenge for merchants. If AI tools are increasingly used in product search and comparison, retailers may need to ensure that pricing, product descriptions, specifications and availability data are clear enough for automated systems to interpret and present accurately.

That could shift competitive pressure away from the checkout page alone and towards the quality of a retailer's underlying product information. If consumers rely on AI assistants to filter options, incomplete or inconsistent data may leave some sellers less visible at the earliest stage of the purchase process.

The research was conducted by Logica Research through an online survey of randomly selected Australian shoppers aged 18 or over who had made at least one online purchase in the previous month.

The findings show that Australian consumers are not rejecting AI in shopping, but they are setting limits on where they want it involved, with checkout remaining the clearest boundary for now.