"I didn't buy that, my AI did". Agentic commerce to drive new wave of disputes

“We’re about to see a different type of chargeback,” says Monica Eaton, founder and CEO of Chargebacks911. “The card wasn’t stolen. The merchant didn’t make a mistake. The agent did exactly what it was told to do. But the customer still says, ‘I didn’t want that.’ That is a very different situation.”

An agent might renew a subscription automatically, choose a cheaper alternative brand, book travel that fits the calendar but not the customer’s preferences, or reorder products that are no longer needed. From the system’s point of view, everything looks correct. From the customer’s point of view, the AI has gone off-message.

Payment networks and major platforms are already building towards this model. Both Visa and Mastercard have already begun initiating autonomous agentic payment transactions in pilots with major banks.

“The payments industry has always treated the click as the signal of intent,” Eaton says. “Agentic commerce removes the click. So now we need a new way to prove intent when a human was not directly involved.”

Agentic commerce is also moving towards outcome-based pricing models, she warns. Some platforms are already charging fees tied directly to AI-driven purchase completions, reflecting the shift towards agent-executed transactions. Chargebacks911 believes this shift will lead to more purchases happening in the background, without a clear moment of human intent.

“If agents start buying things quietly in the background, customers will see more charges they do not recognise or do not agree with,” Eaton says. “And when that happens, the first reaction is often a dispute.”

Traditional dispute cases rely on proof points such as authentication checks or delivery confirmation, she points out. Agent-initiated purchases will require different evidence, including what the customer allowed the agent to do, what limits were in place, what the agent actually executed, and when the customer was notified.

Eaton says merchants should begin preparing now by setting clear agent permissions, improving transaction visibility, and building evidence trails for agent-initiated purchases.

“Agentic commerce can work, but only if the industry keeps the customer’s intent at the centre of the transaction,” she warns.