What's Your Problem? Solving the Trust Problem in AI Shopping
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Oct 22, 2026 
Kartik Hosanagar, a Wharton professor researching AI, digital platforms, and online marketplaces, explores the rise of AI shopping agents. They discuss why trust will spread category by category, whether groceries could lead the shift, and who should cover failed purchases. Hosanagar also explains why businesses must persuade AI systems, not just human shoppers, and how agentic commerce could reshape entire industries.
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Risk Determines How Much Shoppers Delegate
- AI shopping shifts synthesis and sometimes decision-making from people to models, with willingness depending on purchase risk.
- Consumers may delegate low-risk purchases almost entirely while retaining approval for expensive or consequential decisions.
Agentic Shopping Will Expand Category By Category
- Kartik Hosanagar compares agentic shopping with e-commerce, which expanded from books to electronics and clothing as trust accumulated.
- He expects AI purchasing to spread category by category rather than become universal immediately.
Groceries Could Be The Books Of Agentic Shopping
- Kartik Hosanagar sees routine groceries as an early use case because shoppers already accept substitutions through services like Instacart.
- A wrong milk substitution is cheap enough to tolerate while users test whether the agent performs reliably.