Nine in 10 Firms Struggle as AI Agents Reshape Bot Verification

Companies have traditionally treated automated traffic as a threat to be blocked, but generative AI is blurring that distinction. Legitimate AI agents are beginning to search, shop and initiate payments on consumers’ behalf, while malicious bots continue to target accounts and transaction systems. That shift makes basic human-versus-machine screening less useful and raises the stakes for digital identity systems, which must determine who authorized an agent, what it is permitted to do and whether its behavior is trustworthy.

A latest report from PYMNTS Intelligence found that nine in 10 companies face challenges managing bot traffic. The figure highlights a widening gap between existing fraud controls and an online economy where harmful automation and authorized AI agents may use similar interfaces and transaction paths. Businesses now need verification frameworks that can distinguish malicious activity from approved machine customers, continuously assess risk and apply narrowly defined permissions as AI-driven shopping and payment activity expands.