10:37Machine-translated from Russian by AIRead in Azerbaijani
Mastercard Study: 79% of Young People Used AI to Research Products
Mastercard has published a new report, “A Short History of the Future of Shopping and Payments,” examining how artificial intelligence could change the way people find products, make purchasing decisions and pay. The study underpinning the report surveyed 13,000 pairs—young people ages 13 to 18 and their parents—across 13 markets. According to the findings, 79% of young people and 70% of parents used AI to research products over the past year.
The Mastercard study also shows that AI is becoming part of the regular shopping process. 62% of young people and 49% of parents use AI to research products at least once a month. 61% of young people say they are at least somewhat willing to use an end-to-end AI assistant capable of managing the shopping process on their behalf. About 67% of parents believe their children’s generation will be more comfortable shopping with AI than they are.
As AI moves from researching products to making purchases, users will set the boundaries
The report examines the emergence of agentic commerce, in which AI not only helps people find products and compare options but also takes action on their behalf. This shift is analyzed from three perspectives: the consumer shopping experience, retailers’ relationships with customers and the trust infrastructure required to process payments.
For example, an AI agent could compare flight options or fill a cart for a regular grocery order. Whether it can take the next step and complete the purchase will depend on the permissions set by the user.
According to the report, wider adoption of agentic commerce will depend on whether consumers retain clear control. This involves verifying whose behalf the AI agent is acting on, setting clear spending limits and allowing users to decide when additional confirmation is required. Consumers must also clearly understand what will happen in the event of an erroneous or unexpected transaction.
Verifiable information is becoming increasingly important for retailers
As AI agents begin evaluating options on behalf of consumers, retailers will also have to change how they provide information. Data on prices, product availability, delivery terms and returns will increasingly need to be accessible to AI agents, while claims about product features and environmental credentials will need to be supported by verifiable information.
The Mastercard report also emphasizes the role of trust in the payment process. In addition to protecting payment data, this means being able to verify the AI agent’s authenticity and confirm that it is authorized to carry out a specific transaction. This helps ensure that purchases made on behalf of a consumer remain within the limits and permissions they have established.
Note on the study: The online study was conducted by Opinium on behalf of Mastercard in June–July 2026 in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.