Data Privacy Tops Shoppers’ AI Fears: What You Need to Know

Data Privacy Tops Shoppers’ AI Fears: What You Need to Know

If you’ve used an AI shopping assistant lately—a chatbot that helps you find products, a tool that writes reviews, or a browser extension that compares prices—you’ve probably noticed how much information it asks for. Your preferences, your purchase history, sometimes even your location and payment details. That unease you feel is backed up by fresh data.

According to a new study from eMarketer (reported in May 2026), data privacy is shoppers’ biggest AI shopping fear—by far. While concerns about accuracy, bias, or losing the human touch all appear in the data, none come close to the worry about how personal information is collected, stored, and used. The report, which surveyed thousands of U.S. consumers, highlights a clear gap between the convenience AI shopping tools promise and the trust they have yet to earn.

What happened

The eMarketer study asked consumers about their top concerns when using AI for shopping. Privacy topped the list. The exact percentages and full methodology are available in the report, but the headline finding is unambiguous: shoppers are more worried about their data than about receiving bad recommendations, being tricked by fake AI content, or even losing jobs to automation.

This finding isn’t surprising if you follow the broader privacy landscape. Data breaches at retailers, the rise of targeted advertising, and high-profile incidents of AI hallucination or misuse have made consumers cautious. Shoppers are increasingly aware that every click, search, and hesitation can be tracked and monetized. AI tools, which often need deeper access to personal data to function effectively, amplify that anxiety.

Why it matters

When an AI shopping tool asks for your email, your browsing history, or your credit card number, it’s rarely collecting only what’s needed for that transaction. Common risks include:

• Data breaches. If the company behind the AI tool is hacked, your personal data could be exposed.
• Profiling. Your shopping data can be used to build a detailed profile of your income, health interests, political leanings, and more, often without your explicit consent.
• Scams. Fraudsters are already creating fake AI shopping assistants that mimic legitimate tools to steal credentials and payment information.

The eMarketer study shows that these fears aren’t hypothetical. Consumers are holding back from using AI shopping features precisely because they don’t trust how their data will be handled. This is a real barrier for both adoption and innovation in retail.

What readers can do

The good news is that you don’t have to avoid AI shopping entirely. A few practical steps can significantly reduce your exposure:

• Read the privacy policy—at least the summary. Many AI tools now have simplified privacy notices. Look for what data is collected, how long it’s kept, and whether it’s shared with third parties.
• Limit permissions. If a shopping assistant asks for access to your location, contacts, or photos, ask why. If the reason isn’t essential, deny it.
• Use virtual credit cards or one-time payment methods. Services like Apple Pay, Google Pay, or privacy.com generate temporary card numbers. That way, even if a retailer or AI tool is compromised, your actual card number isn’t exposed.
• Don’t create accounts when not necessary. Guest checkout limits the data trail. If you do create an account, use a unique password and enable two-factor authentication.
• Vet the tool. Before downloading a new AI shopping extension or app, search for reviews, check the developer’s reputation, and see if they’ve had past security issues.
• Turn off AI personalization when possible. Some tools let you use core features without sharing your purchase history or browsing behavior.

It’s also worth noting what some retailers are doing in response to this privacy concern. A few have started offering privacy dashboards where you can see exactly what data the AI has collected and delete it. Others are moving to on-device processing, so your data never leaves your phone. But these practices are far from universal, so the burden still falls largely on the shopper.

Sources

• eMarketer, “Data privacy is shoppers’ biggest AI shopping fear, by far” (May 2026).