Banks raise red flags over AI shopping bots and scam risks: What to know

On Tuesday, banks are warning that AI-powered shopping bots could make online shopping more convenient but may also increase the risk of scams, fraud and data-privacy breaches with banks including NatWest and Bank of America establishing frameworks for technology development.

According to reports, technology companies including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta are increasingly promoting AI chatbots as shopping tools foreseeing a future in which shoppers use AI agents to negotiate and buy goods or services from a company.

In this connection, British retailer John Lewis said in September that AI-driven search had risen to 2.5% from 0.3% with the trend escalating. The report further underlined that the group of banks also includes ING, New Zealand's ASB Bank, US lender Capital One and Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

“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 report highlighted that customers were driving the adoption of agentic commerce. It further identifies risks including AI agents requesting customers’ card details and channeling or guiding users toward a specific path or outcome that offers weaker protections.

In the light of the ongoing situation, the banks plan to discuss a series of proposals such as disclosure when an AI agent is used, greater transparency over how AI agents make decisions. Furthermore, the report added that consumers and merchants should also be free to choose the AI-powered e-commerce services they use ensuring they are capable of being substituted for each other.