The vast majority of consumers (86%) have reservations about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the payments process but seem much more welcoming of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), suggests recently published research.
The survey, commissioned by payments platform Paysafe, canvassed 14,000 consumers and found that just 14% are currently using AI-driven payments.
And while 10% say they are willing to use AI-driven payments in the next two years, 17% say they are not comfortable using the technology.
A lot of the concerns centre on a lack of knowledge. A third (35%) said they don’t know enough about the technology to use it yet while a quarter (24%) want to know more about the safeguards in place around the use of consumers’ data.
According to Paysafe, the results show the untapped potential of AI technology and the need for awareness campaigns.
“With the very immediate and significant impact of AI that we’ve seen in recent months, it’s understandable that consumers would have concerns about using such technology at the checkout,” said Rob Gatto, chief revenue officer at Paysafe.
“Payment service providers and merchants will need to educate users about the benefits of AI-driven payments, such as smoother experiences, convenience and security, in order to break down those barriers,” he said.
Interestingly, the research shows much greater willingness to use AR and VR technology in the payments process with 27% and 28% of consumers respectively prepared to use the technology once they become more widely available.
“With the tech giants placing such significant focus on this area and new headset launches emerging in the market, we could see a rapid rise in mixed reality commerce once the technology is more widely available,” said Gatto.