Research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), commissioned by Trustpilot, found that poorly implemented AI could put nearly £9bn of UK online retail sales at risk – equivalent to roughly 6% of the ecommerce market. Steph Gillies, Senior UK Marketing Director at Trustpilot, argues that transparency, customer feedback and access to human support will be essential to protecting consumer trust as retailers increase their use of AI.
AI is rapidly reshaping digital commerce on both sides of retail transactions. More and more, consumers are using AI tools – like ChatGPT – to find products and services. Meanwhile, brands are using AI to both scale and improve the customer experience. But in the highly competitive UK retail market, businesses should beware of losing consumer trust in the quest for operational efficiencies.
British consumers have endless choice, high standards, and are looking for value thanks to cost-of-living pressures. In this environment, the customer experience is what makes a specific retailer the preferred option – rather than one of many. And AI-powered experiences that don’t make the grade can be an expensive bottom-line mistake. Research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), commissioned by Trustpilot, found that clunky use of AI in retail could put nearly £9 billion of UK online sales at risk – roughly 6% of the entire e-commerce market.
Trust begins at discovery
Retailers need to look beyond the tills and checkout pages, as AI search is now shaping customer confidence from the start of the digital commerce journey. At the discovery phase, when consumers ask tools like ChatGPT or Gemini to research products, review sites are some of the top sources they will cite.
This is largely because the major AI tools are trained to favour real-world experience to build their answers. As a result, review content is appearing earlier in the purchase journey than ever before. The impact of reviews as trust signals grows as consumers move through the buying journey, being cited more at conversion than discovery
Not only is customer feedback appearing more often in AI responses, but consumers are looking for it. Trustpilot found that 57% of people state they trust AI-generated recommendations more when they explicitly include reviews from Trustpilot. Customer reviews are becoming a key ingredient in how AI tools describe that brand to potential future customers.
AI should simplify purchasing journeys, not complicate them
At its best, AI can remove friction and enhance the retail experience. Consumers appreciate smart features that work well, with automated checkouts and virtual shopping assistants scoring satisfaction rates over 90%. AI-generated summaries and AI product recommendations are also highly popular and widely used by consumers.
The trouble starts when brands rush to launch automated tools just to cut operational costs, making shopping a chore rather than a convenience. Take customer service chatbots: while nearly 80% of UK shoppers have used one, issues occur when businesses use automated systems to reduce pressure on human teams. When deliveries go missing or refunds are delayed, frustration arises as consumers seek real empathy, troubleshooting and nuance a human can provide. Faster answers mean nothing if usability or access to human support is not accessible when it’s needed.
This disconnect carries a real risk to retailers’ bottom lines. Of the £9 billion at risk, £4.9 billion stems from immediate lost transactions when annoyed shoppers abandon their carts. The remaining £3.7 billion reflects long-term reputational damage. On average, a dissatisfied shopper shares their bad AI experience with two other people, and 65% of consumers will actively reduce their spending with a business after a single bad automated encounter.
Transparency and the human voice
As AI guides consumer buying decisions, transparency is a non-negotiable for retailers. Consumers feel uncomfortable when algorithms operate like a black box. They need to understand how recommendations work and how their data is used. Clear and open communication can turn an intrusive algorithm into a helpful tool.
In an automated world, human feedback loops remain essential. Trust is the currency that powers every retail transaction. To protect revenues and build lasting loyalty, retailers need to keep the focus of AI use on usability and delivering a best-in-class experience.
Underlying this is a need to stay grounded in the real-world experiences of their customers. Ultimately, business strategy is strongest when it is anchored in customer insight and trust. By integrating the lived experiences of customers, in the form of reviews, into the digital experience, retailers can transform uncertainty into recommendations. The future of ecommerce won’t be defined simply by using the latest technologies – but by the trust a brand maintains with its customers.
Steph Gillies
Steph Gillies is Senior UK Marketing Director at Trustpilot. She leads the company's UK marketing strategy, helping businesses use customer feedback and trust signals to strengthen brand reputation, improve customer experience and drive growth in an increasingly AI-driven digital economy.
