Merchants See a Bigger AI Prize if Consumers Trust the System

Autonomous commerce is no longer a future state. It is already reshaping how consumers spend. Scaling it, new data shows, demands more than capable technology. It demands trust.

Findings in the new PYMNTS Intelligence report, “Embedded Offers: The Billion-Dollar Opportunity Inside Recent Consumer Spending,” produced in collaboration with FIS, find that adoption of autonomous and agentic artificial intelligence commerce does not follow from exposure or familiarity alone. It depends on permission design and specifically whether the system aligns with what users expect in terms of control.

The stakes are concrete: Building for automation capability without addressing expectations around trust, transparency and responsible control produces technically sophisticated products that fail to achieve broad uptake.

The data shows a majority of consumers are open to some level of automated offer management, but individual willingness varies significantly depending on the degree of control they relinquish.

Consumers are most comfortable with automation in lower-stakes contexts, such as selecting the best payment method. They are far less comfortable when systems make decisions about product choice, spending limits or brand substitution.

A Market Divided by Trust

The report data points to a structural division within the consumer base. Roughly half of consumers are receptive to some form of automated offer management, while a substantial minority remain cautious or resistant. On one side are the “automation-receptive” consumers who are willing to delegate decision-making in exchange for convenience and savings. On the other are “control keepers,” who can require explicit consent for every action and are frequently reluctant to share their data.

A system calibrated for one group may alienate the other. In this sense, the challenge is not technological. The capability to automate offer selection and application already exists. The challenge is behavioral and centers on designing systems that align with dynamic consumer preferences and comfort levels.

When systems attempt to take full control too quickly, they trigger resistance. Consumers become wary of losing agency, particularly in areas tied to personal preference, such as brand choice. Even if the system’s recommendations are economically rational, they may conflict with habits, loyalties, or identities.

Read the report: Embedded Offers: The Billion-Dollar Opportunity Inside Recent Consumer Spending

Building the Future, One Permission at a Time

For merchants, the immediate implication is that automation must be framed as a service, not an imposition. The objective is to reduce friction in the purchasing process without altering the consumer’s sense of agency.

For payment providers, the stakes are equally high. Real-time savings and automated optimization create a new pathway to becoming the default payment method, arguably one of the most valuable positions in the ecosystem.

Instead, any winning strategy may involve tiered systems that allow consumers to opt into different levels of automation over time. A system might begin by simply surfacing the best available payment method at checkout. From there, it might offer to apply relevant discounts automatically, with clear visibility into what is being used and why.

Over time, as the user experiences consistent value, the system can introduce more advanced capabilities, such as adjusting quantities or recommending alternatives. Trust here can as a result be earned incrementally, with transparency and control embedded into the design.

This graduated approach transforms automation from a leap of faith into a sequence of informed decisions. It allows consumers to calibrate their level of comfort, rather than forcing them into a binary choice.

A single successful interaction such as an automatically applied discount or a seamless payment optimization can serve as the foundation for broader adoption.

In effect, the addressable market for automation is not static. It can be grown. Because in the end, automation is not about replacing the consumer. It is about working on their behalf and being allowed to do so.

At PYMNTS Intelligence, we work with businesses to uncover insights that fuel intelligent, data-driven discussions on changing customer expectations, a more connected economy and the strategic shifts necessary to achieve outcomes. With rigorous research methodologies and unwavering commitment to objective quality, we offer trusted data to grow your business. As our partner, you’ll have access to our diverse team of PhDs, researchers, data analysts, number crunchers, subject matter veterans and editorial experts.