KARACHI: While embracing artificial intelligence as part of their shopping journeys, 82 per cent in Pakistan have used AI tools to assist with shopping, including comparing prices (56pc), finding gift ideas (47pc), and checking reviews or product ratings (53pc).

Around 93pc feel new technologies, including AI-powered tools, are making online shopping faster and easier than before. AI is also influencing discovery, with 55pc typically discovering new brands or retailers while shopping online.

However, consumers remain more cautious about AI handling transactions on their behalf. Today, only 42pc would trust AI agents to complete checkout, underscoring the importance of earning consumer trust in the age of agentic commerce.

This is the outcome of the annual Stay Secure study in Pakistan, released by Visa, a world leader in digital payment, which assesses consumer awareness and behaviours around digital commerce and fraud. 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.

Only 42pc trust AI agents to complete purchases

Around 65pc of respondents feel AI has made scams easier to recognise today and 87pc believe AI will play a critical role in protecting consumers from fraud in the future, the study said.

As commerce expands across new channels, fraud risks continue to follow consumers online. Around 55pc respondents have experienced a financial scam in the past 12 months.

Among those who have experienced a scam, 44pc report the incident occurred on social media, more than those who encounter scams on other platforms such as websites, online marketplaces, or shopping apps, the study said.

Around 77pc of consumers reported that children in their lives struggle to recognise scams. A significant 33pc had seen a child fall victim to a scam while gaming or shopping online. Around 44pc of Pakistani parents have children who can access mobile payment apps or digital wallets.

When it comes to protecting against fraud while shopping online, consumers look first to institutions rather than themselves as 49pc believe payment providers and online marketplaces should be primarily responsible, followed by government authorities or regulators (36pc) and banks or financial institutions (31pc). Only 13pc believe consumers themselves should hold primary responsibility.

Leila Serhan, Senior Vice President and Group Country Manager, North Africa, Levant and Pakistan at Visa, said that as commerce moves towards more agentic, AI-powered experiences, consumers are embracing the convenience AI can bring to shopping but remain cautious about AI completing purchases on their behalf.

Published in Dawn, June 10th, 2026