New research from PSE Consulting finds that consumers are willing to accept advertising in AI shopping tools in exchange for free access, even as trust concerns persist
London, UK – Consumers’ longstanding experience of free, ad-influenced search is shaping expectations for the next generation of agentic AI shopping tools, with a significant proportion preferring a free model over paying for fully impartial advice, according to new research from payments consultancy PSE Consulting.
The study of 4,250 consumers across the UK, US, France and Germany finds that 43% of respondents are happy to take a free AI shopping assistant even if its recommendations are influenced by advertising, compared with 27% who would opt to pay for a fully impartial alternative.
The findings suggest that as AI systems move from search and discovery into more agentic shopping environments, consumers are extending established digital trade-offs, particularly the acceptance of advertising in exchange for free services, into a new commercial context. Crucially, consumers appear to understand that advertising introduces bias into recommendations and have already factored that into their expectations of free AI services. At this stage, the research does not indicate widespread “cognitive surrender”, where users defer uncritically to AI decision-making. Instead, consumers appear to remain aware of commercial influence within shopping environments, although these behaviours are still emerging among relatively early adopters of AI-assisted commerce.
However, the research also points to a clear constraint on that acceptance. Four in ten consumers (40%) say advertising would reduce their trust in AI-generated recommendations, rising to 48% in the UK. The sensitivity is most pronounced among older consumers, with half of those aged 55 and over saying advertising would reduce their trust, compared with a third of under-35s, who have grown up with algorithmically curated services and apply a different standard of what neutral looks like. In contrast, 34% of US consumers say they would be willing to pay for a fully impartial AI assistant, making it the strongest “pay for quality” market among those surveyed.
Chris Jones, Managing Director at PSE Consulting said the data points to a more complex monetisation landscape than a simple binary choice between free, ad-supported AI and paid, independent alternatives.
Jones added: “Consumers are carrying forward a long-standing digital bargain from search and social media into the AI era. They are not rejecting commercially influenced services - they are comfortable with them but they are far more sensitive to how that influence affects the usefulness of recommendations.”
“The real risk is that, without careful design, these dynamics could follow the same pattern of gradual degradation in user experience that has become associated with platform ‘enshittification’.”
The research suggests the commercial model for AI shopping assistants is likely to evolve into a tiered ecosystem. Free, ad-supported tools are expected to dominate mainstream adoption within shopping, with seller-funded placements and sponsored recommendations become normalised features of the environment. In parallel, fully agnostic premium models may be offered alongside enterprise services where the advice is always user centric.
However, an increasingly important layer sits behind the consumer interface. For merchants and platforms, the challenge is not just visibility, but trust calibration within AI systems themselves. As agentic models become the primary discovery layer, enterprises are likely to invest in ensuring their products are accurately interpreted, correctly prioritised and consistently represented in AI-driven recommendation environments. In effect, trust becomes something that is not only experienced by the consumer, but also engineered and paid for upstream.
According to PSE Consulting, the findings suggest consumers are entering the AI shopping era with a more pragmatic understanding of commercial influence than is often assumed. Rather than expecting AI shopping assistants to operate as fully neutral systems, many consumers appear willing to accept advertising and sponsored recommendations as part of the value exchange for free services.
PSE Consulting's research is part of a broader study into the commercial and structural implications of agentic commerce across four major Western ecommerce markets with a full report is forthcoming.
About PSE Consulting
PSE Consulting is a leading global provider of payment advisory services to players across the payments landscape. PSE’s expertise has enabled it to deliver actionable market insights and operational optimisation to senior payments leaders for over 30 years.
To learn more, visit: https://pseconsulting.com/
