PYMNTS: 82% of UAE shoppers would let AI buy within a limit.
Most UAE shoppers would let an AI agent buy for them unsupervised if they could set a spending limit, a PYMNTS Intelligence study with Visa Acceptance Solutions finds. 82% said so, and more than half would cap such purchases at $100.
The 2026 Global Digital Shopping Index: UAE Playbook, published on 3 September, also finds UAE consumers doing more of their shopping digitally. They average 2.3 digital shopping activities a day, up 5% from 2024. Ordering online to collect in store rose 15%, and using a phone inside a store rose 11%. The report points to a gap merchants could close: 74% of shoppers want digital coupons, but only 60% of merchants offer them.
The UAE results come from 1,270 consumers surveyed in March 2026, part of a three-country study of 5,241 consumers and 1,185 merchants in the UAE, Brazil and the US, plus 150 payment acquirers surveyed in early 2026. Samples were weighted to reflect each country's adult population. Visa Acceptance Solutions, which sells payment services to merchants, co-produced the study, and the full playbook sits behind a sign-up form.
The spending-limit condition matters more than the headline number. Shoppers are open to agents buying for them, but they want control over how much, and a cap of about $100 suggests agents will start with small, routine purchases rather than big-ticket ones. For retailers, that argues for checkouts that agents can use, with clear limits and confirmations, and for digital coupons that both shoppers and their AI tools can find.
Why it matters
UAE shoppers are open to AI agents buying for them, but only within limits they set, so checkouts and offers need to work for agents, with clear spending controls.
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