AI Shopping Agents Could Increase Fraud, Data Privacy Risks, Banks Warn

A group of banks, which includes Bank of America and NatWest, have warned that the use of AI shopping agents could increase the risk of fraud, scams, and data-privacy breaches. The caution by banks comes weeks after a report projected that by 2030, 1 in 10 online buyers will regularly rely on agentic tools to make purchases. 

What Agentic Commerce Fraud Risks Did Banks Flag?

A report released by the group of banks showed that the potential of agentic commerce has created enthusiasm among customers, who are now keen to enable it. The report also highlighted privacy risks related to AI shopping bots. One such risk involves AI agents requesting customers’ card details and inserting them into websites. 

With agentic AI developing faster than consumer protections and industry standards, the banks linked AI shopping agents to data privacy risks where payment methods lack strong security mechanisms. 

"Consumers are unclear if AI will act in their interests. They are concerned that AI agents may buy the wrong thing or spend too much, or even worse, lose their money to scams and fraud. They are not sure whether they will be protected or who they will need to go to if things go wrong." The banks said this in the report, as cited by Reuters. 

Other banks that participated in developing the report that flagged AI agents' online shopping risks are New Zealand’s ASB Bank, ING, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and U.S. lender Capital One.

Why AI Shopping Agents Risks Matter

Increasingly, AI developers like OpenAI, Google, Meta, and Anthropic are positioning AI agents as shopping tools. The tech companies envision a future where shoppers will rely on these tools to find the products they want online and complete purchases on their behalf. 

Retailers, on the other hand, are moving fast to power product discovery and recommendations with AI tools. Reuters reported that U.K. retailer John Lewis placed search traffic from agentic tools at 0.3% early this year, up from 2.5% in September. 

Recently, Google added AI agents to the Gemini app and AI Mode for smarter shopping. The AI-powered tools make online product search, comparison, and purchase easier and faster for users. 

What Will the Banks Do Next? 

Following these developments, banks plan to engage policymakers on several proposals. Some of the proposals involve requiring mandatory disclosure where AI agents are used in transactions.

The banks will also be pushing for greater transparency on how agentic tools make decisions and how financial institutions and businesses protect customer data. The report also proposes that consumers and merchants be allowed to choose which AI-powered e-commerce services to use while making the systems interoperable.