Shoppers will let AI find the deal. Only 6% are very comfortable letting it spend $500.

If an AI agent could buy something for your customer, would they let it? New research says yes for a small purchase, and not so fast for a big one.

On October 20, Wildfire Systems, a loyalty and shopping insights company, shared a survey of 1,007 U.S. consumers. This is vendor research, so read it as one useful signal, not the full picture. 29% said they are very comfortable letting an AI agent make a purchase under $20. For purchases of $500 or more, that fell to just 6%. Among people who use AI, 56% use it for price comparison and 44% for deal hunting. Yet only 5% would trust an AI platform itself to process an agent's payment.

Earlier this year, Commerce and PayPal shared a study of 3,000 online shoppers in the U.S., U.K., and Australia, run by Logica Research. About two thirds said they are interested in trying agentic shopping tools. But the release found that shoppers mainly want AI help during research and comparison rather than during checkout, and that they expect to stay in control of the final purchase. Purchase confirmation, fraud protection, and strong payment security were the top factors for increasing adoption.

Why this matters for a small business

Your customers are starting to use AI to find and compare options. That means your website needs to be clear enough for an AI agent to read. But the moment of the decision, especially a bigger one, still belongs to a person. Whether you sell a product, a coaching package, or a legal service, the trust you build at that moment is the relationship.

What I would do this week

• Check that your prices, packages, and policies are written plainly on your website, so an AI agent can compare you fairly.
• Look at your checkout or booking step and make sure the customer gets a clear confirmation before they pay.
• For your higher priced offers, keep a real person available to answer questions before the customer says yes.

My takeaway: Let AI help your customers find you. Keep the buying decision, and the relationship, in human hands. Automate the process, not the relationship.