Agentic AI Gains Ground Among UK Retailers, Says TLT

Despite widespread uncertainties around infrastructure preparedness, responsibility, and regulation, nearly half of the biggest merchants in the UK are already investing in agentic AI as part of their payments plans, according to new study released by the law firm TLT.

The study found that 49% of shops are incorporating agentic AI into their payment plans. Of them, 20% are concentrating only on AI-led payment innovation, and 29% are integrating agentic AI with loyalty-linked payments.

The rise of increasingly autonomous purchase trips is indicated by early use cases such as autonomous replenishment, AI-driven selection of the best payment options, and dynamic pricing decisions.

Retailers are stepping up their efforts in payment innovation beyond AI. 50% of respondents prioritize digital wallets, and 45% consider Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) to be a crucial technology, especially in the fashion and beauty industries.

With only 15% fully integrated, 25% piloting, and 32% planning adoption, open banking adoption is still dispersed. In the meantime, just 10% of shops prioritize blockchain-based payments or digital assets.

Governance and infrastructure, however, are not keeping up with innovation. Nearly half of retailers are still unsure about their accountability for AI-enabled payments, and only 15% think their payment contracts and systems are currently capable of handling AI-mediated transactions.

70% of respondents identified regulatory uncertainty as the industry’s greatest obstacle, with worries mostly focused on BNPL regulation, AI transaction guidelines, and Data Use and Access Act requirements.

With 29% of businesses intending to use AI-based fraud detection solutions, fraud prevention is still a major concern.

TLT partner Alex Williamson said,

“These findings demonstrate that retailers are innovating rapidly but require greater certainty around compliance frameworks to scale new payment technologies more confidently.”

“Digital wallets, BNPL, embedded finance and AI are reshaping consumer expectations but only 15% of retailers feel they have contracts fit for these technologies, and liability around AI-enabled transactions remains unclear for most. As innovation accelerates, payments ecosystem players have an important role to play in providing certainty, resilience and clarity.”

“Success will depend on deep collaboration between retailers, PSPs, banks and FinTechs. The future belongs to those who see beyond the transaction and have contracts and compliance frameworks in place to leverage new technologies confidently to maximize their payments and related data opportunities, while better serving their customers.”