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Big box chains have proudly embraced artificial intelligence \u2014 but don\u2019t expect them to help when their AI assistants charge your card for hallucinated garbage.<\/p>\n
That trend, in which retail giants force their AI initiatives on consumers while distancing themselves from its failures, is growing. While that attitude certainly isn\u2019t unique<\/a> to big box stores, it\u2019s increasingly becoming their default setting, revealing the ridiculous double standard baked into the AI boom.<\/p>\n Target is the latest to jump on the bandwagon. According to Business Insider<\/a>, the Minnesota-based retail corporation recently updated its terms and conditions<\/a> to make it clear that customers \u2014 not the company \u2014 would be responsible for the failures and hallucinations of its upcoming AI shopping assistant.<\/p>\n That virtual buddy, which runs on Google\u2019s Gemini, is supposed to help online shoppers finish Target runs on their users\u2019 behalf. Under the new terms, if a customer uses the Gemini agent to do their shopping for them, any transaction performed by the AI would be \u201cconsidered transactions authorized by you.\u201d Translation: any mistake by the AI agent \u2014 whether it buys the wrong item entirely<\/a>, or a super expensive version of the right one without your consent<\/a> \u2014 will come out of your pocket.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are responsible for reviewing activity performed by your Agentic Commerce Agent and for promptly notifying the Agentic Commerce Agent and Target of any activity you believe is unauthorized or outside the scope of permissions you approved,\u201d the new terms state. <\/p>\n If that weren\u2019t enough proof that Target doesn\u2019t stand by its product, it gets more explicit: \u201cTarget does not purport to guarantee that an Agentic Commerce Agent will act exactly as you intend in all circumstances. You should review orders, account activity, and settings regularly.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking to BI, a Target spokesperson confirmed that the updated language is a nod to the coming Gemini assistant, but caveated that customers are still welcome to try to return their purchases, same as ever. <\/p>\n The company joins other retail giants like Walmart in rolling out AI shopping agents that it openly distrusts. Walmart, which recently outraged consumers with AI-powered price gouging<\/a>, also updated its terms of use to cover for mistakes made by its AI shopping assistant, Sparky.<\/p>\n \u201cDue to the nature of Generative AI, the information, responses and recommendations generated for you and other users through Generative AI Features\u2026 may not be accurate, complete or up-to-date and may be misleading or contain errors and omissions, or the Generative AI Features may misunderstand the Content that you input\u2026 and may be responding to a different question than asked,\u201d the company\u2019s new policy states<\/a>. \u201cNone of these sources have been verified by Walmart.\u201d<\/p>\n