Leading online retailers from Amazon and Walmart to Gap and Levi Strauss continue to implement new artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to drive outcomes across their operations — and as they do, new survey data shows that shoppers are getting more comfortable with the AI tools being used.

However, that increasing level of comfort accompanies key concerns, which may represent important opportunities for merchants.

The findings appear in a new report, “AI Spotlight: Optimizing Data for Agentic Commerce.” Digital Commerce 360 and Bizrate Insights surveyed 1,081 online shoppers during the first half of 2026. In their responses, participants indicated that they were generally comfortable with retailers’ use of AI to help with shopping. Use cases they were familiar with included recommendations, chatbots and automated assistants.

Still, when it came to how their data was being collected and used, those same shoppers expressed mixed degrees of awareness surrounding how retailers were collecting and using their data. The answers highlight a gap where better communications and policies could lead to improved customer experience.

Why strategy matters for online retailers’ data and AI use

The first good news for retailers to come out of the new survey was that well over half of online shoppers expressed that they were comfortable with how online retailers were using AI. In fact, 23.3% said they were very comfortable. Another 32.5% said they were somewhat comfortable.

Nevertheless, when it came to how online retailers were treating personal data in respondents’ shopping experience, confusion became clear. Survey takers were asked, “When an online store uses AI features, how clear do you usually feel they are about how your personal data is being used?”

Only 17.3% of shoppers said merchants were “very clear” with these details. 29.3% called data treatment somewhat clear. But more than 46% of answers were either “not very clear” or “not clear at all.”

With nearly half of customers acknowledging the lack of clarity, online retailers should view this gap as a place to differentiate themselves, building both trust and loyalty.

Which data online shoppers care about most

In addition, shoppers surveyed also noted which types of data raised the most concern when they were making purchases. As payments in agentic commerce experience become more common, these answers also spotlight issues that merchants can address.

Topping the list of answers for shoppers when asked about their personal data concerns with AI systems in online shopping, 67.0% flagged payment and financial information. That was followed by two other answers, location data (63.8%) and personal details (61.0%), such as names and contact information.

The next most common answer, browsing or search behavior, received just a 23.0% response rate, and purchase history was a concern among just 16.1% of respondents. Only 6.1% of shoppers said they weren’t concerned at all about their data.

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