85% of UAE consumers use AI to shop — Visa study

This year’s edition, conducted by Wakefield Research, highlights how AI‑enabled shopping and social commerce are changing consumer behaviour even as expectations around trust and protection remain firmly in place.

Consumers are adopting artificial intelligence as part of their shopping journeys. 85 percent in the UAE have used AI tools to assist with shopping, including checking reviews or product ratings (60 percent), comparing prices (59 percent), and finding gift ideas (55 percent).

This trend, according to Visa, signals widespread confidence in the benefits offered by modern technologies, with 93% of respondents believing that new technologies, including AI-powered tools, are making online shopping faster and more convenient than before. Artificial intelligence is also influencing product and brand discovery, with 60% of consumers typically discovering new brands or retailers while shopping online.

However, consumers remain more hesitant when it comes to AI handling transactions on their behalf. Today, only 32% would trust AI agents to complete checkout, reinforcing the importance of earning consumer trust in the age of agentic commerce.

As AI adoption grows, consumers increasingly view technology as part of the answer to fraud. 57% feel AI has made scams easier to recognise today and 85% believe AI will play a critical role in protecting consumers from fraud in the future.

Shopping through social platforms has become commonplace, with 69% of consumers in the UAE having purchased products directly through social media platforms. As commerce expands across new channels, fraud risks continue to follow consumers online. 46% have experienced a financial scam in the past 12 months. Among those who have experienced a scam, 38% report the incident occurred on social media, more than those who encounter scams on other channels such as websites, online marketplaces, or shopping apps.

The study also highlights growing concern around how children encounter scams online, with 80% of consumers reporting that children in their lives find it difficult to recognise scams. A significant 67% have seen a child fall victim to a scam while gaming or shopping online.

That concern comes as children gain greater access to digital commerce. 33% of parents in the UAE have children who can use mobile payment apps or digital wallets.

When it comes to protecting against fraud while shopping online, consumers look first to institutions rather than themselves. 36% believe banks or financial institutions should be primarily responsible and an equal share say the same for government authorities or regulators. 34% of consumers believe payment providers are responsible, while only 19% believe consumers themselves should take primary responsibility.

They also want more proactive reassurance. 60% would feel secure receiving real-time alerts from their bank or payment app when something looks suspicious, while 33% would feel more confident seeing a familiar, trusted logo at checkout.

“Visa’s Stay Secure study reveals that as online shopping and social commerce continue to accelerate, fraud and scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Consumers perceive fraud protection as a shared responsibility but expect banks and payment providers to take the lead, highlighting the importance of secure-by-design payment systems,” said Dibyajyoti Sen, Head of Risk, GCC, Visa.

He continued, “As commerce moves toward more AI-powered and agentic experiences, consumers are embracing the convenience AI can bring to shopping but remain sceptical about AI completing purchases on their behalf. With Visa Intelligent Commerce, we are enabling the next era of commerce built on trust, control and confidence.”

As Qazinform News Agency reported earlier, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a decree approving "Digital Qazaqstan" Nationwide Strategy for Large-Scale Digitalization and Complete Integration of Artificial Intelligence Technologies through 2029.