Despite fast-growing adoption of AI agents, the majority of shoppers remain wary of trusting AI to autonomously transact on their behalf, with payments now the key friction point preventing true end-to-end agentic commerce, according to the latest research from the Retail Technology Show (RTS).

Rising AI agent adoption in shopping journeys

Original research of over 1,000 UK shoppers by RTS revealed that two fifths (38%) have already used AI agents within product discovery, leveraging the technology to search for items or ask for product recommendations.  Usage was even higher among younger demographics, with adoption of agentic product discovery rising to six in ten (59%) of Millennials and over half (55%) of Gen Z.

Meanwhile, a further quarter (27%) of UK shoppers have already used AI agents to make purchases on their behalf autonomously, rising to almost half of Millennials (47%) and Gen Z (46%).

Consumers are also increasingly demanding ‘one-click’ AI payments: over a third (36%) now want ‘instant’ payments, such as OpenAI Instant Checkout, allowing them to search and transact without leaving the AI platform, rising to over half (56%) of Millennials and Gen Z (53%).

Shoppers express caution in fully autonomous AI shopping

However, despite rising adoption, six in ten (60%) UK shoppers remain mistrustful of using AI agents to complete end-to-end shopping missions from discovery through to payment. 

While concerns about giving AI full autonomy were highest among older generations, rising to 68% of Boomers, even younger demographics who exhibit the highest level of AI adoption expressed unease.  Over half of Gen Z (52%) and Millennials (55%) remain wary of entrusting AI agents with the entire buying process.

Payments a barrier to end-to-end agentic purchases

Control over payments and authorising transactions were the main friction areas in allowing AI agents to conduct full end-to-end buying journeys. 

While the majority are happy for AI agents to do the research in their shopping missions, 57% still stop short wanting AI to transact autonomously on their behalf, preferring to retain final control of payment authorisations.  And, despite younger cohorts displaying greater agentic AI adoption, this payment ‘friction frontier’ is even more acutely felt amongst 70% of Gen Z and 69% of Millennials.

This comes as retailers and brands are already looking at how they seamlessly embed payment protocols into agentic commerce capabilities. OpenAI announced it would enable Instant Checkout to bridge product discovery with transactions on its ChatGPT platform in the U.S. last year.  Google then followed with its Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) announcement in January, with Walmart becoming the first retailer to go live offering direct purchases and payments within Google’s AI chatbot, Gemini, in North America. 

“As the indomitable rise of AI takes over more aspects of consumers’ day-to-day lives and shopping behaviours, retailers are racing towards meeting rapidly evolving customer expectations, bridging the gap between vision and execution,” Matt Bradley, Founder & Event Director of RTS, commented.

“With maturity around AI hardening, the next frontier of innovation will require retailers to widen integrations within the AI shopping layer – not just across payments, but beyond into Order Management Systems (OMS), delivery and post-purchase,” Bradley added.

AI & agentic shopping to be key focuses at RTS 2026

AI – and the move towards end-to-end agentic shopping – will be key focuses on the RTS conference programme, which will welcome 125+ brand leaders and retail powerhouses to the stage across the two-day event, taking place at London ExCeL on 22 & 23 April 2026.

Speaking on Day 1 at 1.15pm on the Supernova Stage, Currys’ MD of AI & Monetisation, Ryan den Rooijen, will outlining core strategies for successful AI deployments that deliver for customers, colleagues and the bottom line in his session.

He will be followed by Iain Robertson, CO/IO at Fortnum & Mason and Amine Mekouar, VP Data & AI at Aroma Zone, who join Nikki Baird, VP of Strategy & Product at stage sponsor Aptos Retail, for an AI focused panel discussion. They will explore what the shift towards agentic AI means for retailers, efficiency & customer engagement on Day 1 at 3.15pm on the Supernova Stage.

To register for RTS 2026, visit: https://www.retailtechnologyshow.com.