New research by YouGov commissioned by Checkout.com, a leading global digital payments platform, reveals growing trends amongst British consumers related to the perceived threats AI poses to their security and wellbeing when shopping online. 

Nearly two thirds of people (61%) admit to being concerned about privacy when online shopping. Deepfakes specifically are a source of concern for those buying online. More than half (56%) of consumers are worried they could be scammed by deepfakes, increasing to 64% for the Baby Boomer generation. 54% of adults are also wary of having their image stolen and used to create deepfakes that can be used to make online purchases.

Checkout.com commissioned the research to better understand the scale of the consumer trust gap on behalf of its global merchant network. Over 2,000 adults living in the UK were surveyed (as part of a global study of 18,000) and their responses were combined with consumer and merchant interviews, as well as data from Checkout.com’s network, to form the Checkout.com Trust In The Digital Economy 2025 Report. 

The research also found that UK consumer mistrust extends beyond deepfakes. Over half (54%) of the adult population are worried about AI-generated social engineering content being used to target them with fraud and scams. Meanwhile, 40% of UK adults worry their shopping data could be used by AI to target them and influence their political opinions.

Despite these fears, there is an appetite from consumers for AI use in the digital economy, with the main driver being increased convenience and discovery. More than a quarter of Brits (26%) currently trust and use AI tools for visual searches when browsing online, while 22% use AI voice search. 

Consumers are also open to using Generative AI and search technology for comparing merchants online, with half saying that AI search significantly informs which online retailers they choose to use. Retail (50%) is by far the most popular industry for AI search results influencing their decisions but, significantly, online travel (22%), online insurance (22%) and food delivery services (16%) are also being chosen based on AI search results. Interestingly, when looking at industries that have digital origins, such as fintech apps and online gaming, AI search results are being used by fewer consumers - 10% and 9% respectively. 

Looking to the future, AI generated price monitoring and alerts have piqued the public’s interest. More than a quarter (26%) have not yet tried this technology, but would like to do so. However, consumers are not yet ready to hand over complete control to AI for recommendations on what to buy. Nearly half (46%) would not trust personalised product recommendations from generative AI tools to help them and will not be trying it in the future. 

Jenny Hadlow, Chief Operating Officer at Checkout.com, comments, “It’s interesting to see where trust is and isn’t established with consumers when it comes to AI and participation in the digital economy. Trust in digital commerce is crucial for both customer and seller confidence, where both parties must believe the other is who they say they are, and will make good on the transaction. 

“The consumer perceptions of AI suggest that wider societal dangers are impacting people’s perception of threats when shopping online. AI is a relatively new evolution in online shopping. A lack of consumer familiarity, alongside headlines such as people falling foul of financial scams as a result deepfake impersonations will, of course, be a reasonable cause for caution. However, when people see a practical benefit for the use of AI in online shopping, they are in control of the data being used and the use case is familiar to them, we’re seeing an appetite to adopt it.”

It is not just consumers who are worried about AI’s impact on the digital economy. Merchants are also looking at the risks posed by deepfakes, face reenactments, synthetic identity scams, and real-time phishing. 

Julie Fergerson, CEO of the Merchant Risk Council, explains, “For merchants, trust in the digital economy hinges on three key priorities: increasing acceptance, reducing fraud, and delivering the best possible customer experience. These priorities shape every decision merchants make, yet the rising tide of increasingly sophisticated fraud and scams threatens to erode consumer trust. I believe fraud will escalate dramatically over the next three years. Right now, we are merely patching cracks in a dam, but sooner or later the structure will break, forcing us to rebuild swiftly. To stay ahead, merchants, issuers, and payment providers must anticipate fraud trends and prepare accordingly.”

Jenny Hadlow, Chief Operating Officer, Checkout.com adds, “There’s a dual recognition and perception of AI threats from consumers and merchants. Therefore, to foster trust in the age of AI, it is vital that safeguards to both protect consumers and merchants from online scams are implemented across the board. Once we have this and trust is cemented on both sides, widespread AI adoption in online commerce will become a reality. 

“AI plays an important role not only in detecting payment fraud, but also understanding where any false declines may be taking place, which could potentially lead to genuine sales being rejected. At Checkout.com we process billions of transactions that shape the digital economy, so we’re constantly evaluating how AI can be harnessed to provide leading services to our merchants that accelerate payment acceptance performance online. Some of these services include the use of AI in fraud detection, onboarding, KYC, AML and our customer support and care. This, coupled with our laser-focus on digital payments, makes us the leading choice for merchants with the vision that the future lies in the digital economy.”