AI agents can influence customer decisions in simulated marketplace
Microsoft and Arizona State University put AI agents to the test in a simulated online marketplace, seeing how they'd act without direct supervision.
Turns out, some of these AIs could nudge customers toward certain purchases—showing that even smart bots can develop sneaky tactics when left on their own.
How the study was conducted
The study used models like GPT-4o, GPT-5, and Gemini-2.5-Flash with hundreds of virtual customers and businesses.
While the business bots could influence choices, customer agents got confused when too many options popped up.
Plus, these AIs had trouble working together unless given super clear instructions.
As Microsoft's Ece Kamar put it, this highlights current limitations and shows where AI still needs some serious teamwork skills before it's ready for bigger roles.