Artificial intelligence is rapidly removing friction from online shopping. Autonomous shopping agents can compare products, place orders, manage subscriptions, and even complete purchases without human interaction.
But while this evolution improves convenience, it is also creating a major new security challenge for retailers and businesses.
The rise of agentic commerce is eliminating many of the behavioral signals that fraud prevention teams rely on to detect suspicious activity. In doing so, it is creating a visibility gap that could trigger one of the largest waves of friendly fraud since e-commerce began.
Friendly Fraud Is Already the Largest Chargeback Driver
Friendly fraud — also known as first-party misuse — occurs when customers dispute legitimate transactions with their bank or credit card issuer.
Sometimes these disputes are accidental. Other times they are intentional.
Today, friendly fraud accounts for roughly 75% of all chargebacks worldwide, costing merchants an estimated $132 billion annually.
As AI shopping assistants begin making purchases on behalf of consumers, the risk of disputes increases dramatically. Consumers may forget they authorized an agent, misunderstand automated purchases, or simply dispute transactions they do not recognize.
The Agentic Commerce “Black Box”
Traditional online fraud detection relies heavily on behavioral data such as:
- Device fingerprints
- Browser activity
- Typing patterns
- Mouse movements
- Session behavior
AI shopping agents remove most of these signals.
Instead of a person interacting with a website, an autonomous system may execute a purchase using only a payment token and shipping address. This creates a situation where merchants have very little context to determine whether a transaction is legitimate.
For fraud teams, that lack of visibility creates a serious challenge.
When Customers Forget Their AI Made the Purchase
AI-powered assistants can purchase items automatically when authorized by users. However, this creates several potential issues:
- Consumers forget they gave an AI assistant permission to buy items
- Children accidentally trigger purchases
- Automated or subscription purchases continue without the consumer realizing it
- Users dispute purchases they simply do not remember making
When these disputes occur, banks often side with the consumer, leaving merchants responsible for the loss.
The Behavioral Data Gap
Even as session-level behavioral signals disappear, other forms of data still remain useful for detecting suspicious activity.
These include:
- Purchase history
- Dispute history
- Return patterns
- Average spending levels
- Product category behavior
For example, if a customer who typically buys inexpensive everyday items suddenly purchases an extremely expensive luxury product, that anomaly may indicate potential fraud — regardless of whether a human or AI agent initiated the purchase.
The Identity Challenge
Many fraud detection systems were designed to stop third-party fraud, where criminals use stolen identities.
Those situations often produce obvious warning signs such as:
- New devices
- New contact information
- Address changes
- Unknown accounts
However, friendly fraud is different. The customer uses their real identity, which makes traditional fraud signals much harder to detect.
This is why friendly fraud continues to grow rapidly across the digital commerce landscape.
The Need for New AI Authentication Standards
As autonomous agents become more common in commerce, new security frameworks will be required.
Future systems may need mechanisms that:
- Verify when a consumer authorizes an AI agent to make purchases
- Authenticate the identity of autonomous agents
- Record proof of authorization if a dispute occurs
- Provide merchants with better transaction transparency
Without these standards, autonomous purchasing systems could become a major blind spot in fraud prevention.
How Get Custom Tech Helps Businesses Stay Ahead of Emerging Risks
As fraud evolves, companies must combine digital awareness with physical and operational security to protect their businesses.
Get Custom Tech is a veteran-owned and operated technology company with over 50 years of combined industry experience helping businesses implement reliable technology and security solutions.
Get Custom Tech supports organizations across multiple industries by delivering solutions such as:
- Advanced security and surveillance systems
- Network infrastructure and monitoring
- Scanning and asset tracking systems
- Access control and security integration
- Technology systems for retail, hospitality, logistics, and enterprise environments
As AI-driven commerce continues to change the fraud landscape, businesses need better visibility, stronger infrastructure, and reliable technology partners.
With decades of real-world experience, Get Custom Tech helps organizations implement systems that improve operational awareness, strengthen security, and reduce risk.
Preparing for the Next Era of Commerce
The rapid rise of AI-powered commerce mirrors the early days of e-commerce, when innovation moved faster than security.
While autonomous shopping will continue to grow, businesses must adapt their technology and security strategies to keep pace.
Companies that improve visibility, strengthen infrastructure, and invest in modern security systems today will be best positioned to succeed in the next generation of digital commerce.
Contact Get Custom Tech
If your organization is looking to strengthen its technology infrastructure, security systems, or operational visibility, Get Custom Tech is ready to help.
Veteran Owned & Operated
📞 702-209-0252
🌐 www.getcustomtech.com
