AI recommendations expand merchant reach, but checkout still needs to earn trust
Start here
AI-assisted source synthesis · not an independent investigation.
On October 22, 2026, PYMNTS reported that AI recommendations are helping consumers discover new merchants, but have not achieved the same results when it comes to trust in payments. Nearly 45% of consumers who shop with AI have purchased from unfamiliar online stores, and 40% said AI changed where they shop. Although AI is expanding consumers’ choices, Amazon still accounted for nearly 60% of their most recent AI-assisted purchases. Among platform shoppers, 53.9% would switch to purchasing directly from a merchant because of lower prices or exclusive discounts, while only 12.1% would switch because an AI assistant handled checkout for them. The report noted that payment networks, wallets, and checkout infrastructure providers need to further convert product discovery into trusted transactions.
AI-written from reports · updated 2 hours ago
Timeline
Follow the reporting to see the different sides of the story.
- PYMNTSAI recommendations bring in new merchants, but consumers still need to trust checkout
AI recommendations help consumers discover new merchants, but have not been equally effective at solving payment trust issues; nearly 45% of consumers who shop using AI have purchased from unfamiliar online stores, and 40% say AI has changed where they shop. Despite the expanded choice, Amazon still accounted for nearly 60% of the most recent AI-assisted purchases; 53.9% of platform shoppers would switch to buying directly from a merchant for a lower price or exclusive discount, while only 12.1% would switch because an AI assistant handled checkout. The key for payment networks, wallets, and checkout infrastructure providers is to turn discovery into trusted transactions.
Heat over time
Not enough consecutive observations yet to draw a trend.