EMarketer

Shoppers’ Top AI Fear? Their Data Privacy — Here’s How to Protect Yourself Introduction If you’ve used a shopping assistant that suggests products, a chatbot that helps you compare prices, or a visual search tool that finds items from a photo, you’ve already stepped into the world of AI-powered shopping. These tools are convenient, but a recent study from eMarketer confirms what many consumers already suspect: data privacy is shoppers’ biggest fear when it comes to AI shopping, by a wide margin. The report found that privacy concerns far outrank other worries such as accuracy, cost, or even job displacement. For everyday shoppers, the question isn’t whether to use these tools—it’s how to use them without giving away more personal information than necessary. ...

Your Biggest Fear About AI Shopping Is Privacy: Here’s How to Protect Yourself If you’ve used an AI shopping assistant or a recommendation engine lately, you might have felt a small knot of unease when it suggested exactly the item you had only thought about. That feeling is not unusual. According to a recent report from eMarketer published on May 5, 2026, data privacy is shoppers’ biggest fear when it comes to AI shopping tools—by a wide margin. The survey, based on U.S. online shoppers, found that concerns about how personal data is collected, stored, and used outweigh any other worry about AI in e-commerce. ...

Afraid AI shopping tools are spying on you? Here’s how to protect your privacy If you’ve used a chatbot to find a gift or let an AI recommend a new laptop, you’re not alone. AI shopping assistants are appearing on major retail sites and search engines, promising faster decisions and personalized deals. But a new survey from eMarketer confirms what many shoppers already suspect: data privacy is far and away the biggest fear people have about using these tools. The question is whether you have to give up convenience to protect your information. The answer is no—but you do need to know what you’re handing over and how to limit it. ...

Your Biggest Fear About AI Shopping Is Right: How to Protect Your Privacy If you’ve felt uneasy about using AI shopping tools—chatbots that recommend products, voice assistants that place orders, or personalized deal finders—you’re not alone. A recent report from eMarketer confirms that data privacy is shoppers’ number one concern when it comes to AI-powered shopping. And the fear is well-founded. ...

Data Privacy Tops List of AI Shopping Fears: What You Can Do to Stay Safe A recent survey from eMarketer confirms something many online shoppers already suspect: data privacy is the number one concern about using artificial intelligence tools for shopping. The finding isn’t surprising, given how much personal information these tools often require. But understanding the worry—and knowing what to do about it—can help you shop smarter without giving away more than you intend. ...