Can an AI agent buy without asking me?

The checkout tools ARC detects require buyer approval before payment. That is HTML detection, not a promise about every assistant.

Who pays if it buys the wrong thing?

Usually you, once you have approved. Check the assistant's terms. ARC does not measure disputes.

Does ARC rate assistants for safety?

No. ARC measures stores, not assistants.

ARC · Answers

Is it safe to let an AI agent buy for me?

The checkout tools ARC detects say completion requires the buyer's approval, and ARC never places an order. Responsibility for a purchase you approve is in the assistant's terms, not in an ARC measurement. ARC does not measure fraud or dispute rates, and it does not rate assistants.

Short answer

ARC never buys anything. The checkout WebMCP tools it detects declare that completion requires the buyer's approval. That is HTML detection, not a count of how often a person is asked, and not a safety rating of any assistant.

Where you approve

The Allbirds agent file and Shopify's checkout tool notes both say the buyer approves before payment. Press reports (CNBC, 3 October 2026) describe an approval step in some assistants. ARC does not test those apps.

Checkout WebMCP tools require buyer approval: MeasuredMeasuredHTML detection on Shopify checkout pages, from the methodology. Not a live session and not a purchase. Other platforms are not in that check.Snapshot 2026-10-12.r2, 12 October 2026.

Card tokens

Visa and Mastercard describe agent payments with a card token rather than the shopper's real number. How often a checkout actually uses a token is not measured. See Visa and Mastercard agent payments.

Who is responsible

Protocol documents say the merchant stays merchant of record. Press reports say Meta has told Muse users they are responsible for purchases they approve. That is the company's terms, not an ARC dispute count. This page is not legal advice.

Fraud or dispute rates: Not measuredNot measuredARC does not see chargebacks. Not measured is not zero.Snapshot 2026-10-12.r2, 12 October 2026.

What ARC can tell you about a store

The store page shows whether a checkout link came back and whether the browser shoppers reached the cart. It does not rate an assistant. Snapshot for the index figures: 2026-10-12. Protocol figures: ARC saved checks, accessed 2026-10-13.

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to let an AI agent buy for me?: The checkout tools ARC detects say completion requires the buyer's approval, and ARC never places an order. Responsibility for a purchase you approve is in the assistant's terms, not in an ARC measurement. ARC does not measure fraud or dispute rates, and it does not rate assistants.
Can an AI agent buy without asking me?: The checkout tools ARC detects require buyer approval before payment. That is HTML detection, not a promise about every assistant.
Who pays if it buys the wrong thing?: Usually you, once you have approved. Check the assistant's terms. ARC does not measure disputes.
Does ARC rate assistants for safety?: No. ARC measures stores, not assistants.

On ARC

Cite this: ARC, arcreport.ai, accessed 2026-10-13, index snapshot 2026-10-12.r2, CC-BY-4.0. Protocol figures: Live saved checks, accessed 13 October 2026. Not a frozen snapshot. Index browser figures: Snapshot 2026-10-12.r2, 12 October 2026. Platform figures: Live saved checks, accessed 13 October 2026. Not a frozen snapshot.

Every figure is labelled Measured, Inferred or Not measured. Not measured is not zero. A missing result is not a mark against a store. ARC stops before payment.