We should be wary of bots that claim to get us a better deal

September 28, 2026 — 5:00am

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There is a new AI craze taking off, one that could supposedly change everything from choosing a bank account to booking a table at a restaurant.

AI-powered “agents”, which act as a type of digital personal assistant, are surging in popularity, and as with all things AI, there’s a chance this could have major financial ramifications.

For the uninitiated, AI agents are bots to which humans can delegate everyday tasks. You might ask it to book flights or a hotel, do some online shopping, or hunt down a better deal on your insurance.

Facebook’s owner, Meta, recently launched a personal agent called Muse, and last week it had skyrocketed up the charts to become the most downloaded free app in the US Apple app store. Meta is making Muse available in smart glasses and a new pocket-sized device called Charm, and its boss, Mark Zuckerberg, has said the company is building devices for “personal superintelligence”.

If consumers really do embrace these tools, which should be good at finding their users better deals online, there will no doubt be losers on the sharemarket, in particular those businesses that make money from consumer inertia.

Some US share prices slumped – in particular those of banks, which benefit handsomely from the fact most of us can’t be bothered shopping regularly for a better home loan or deposit rate because it’s a pain. Travel agency shares were also hit on fears their model is under threat.

So, at first glance, this might look like good news for consumers. Personal finance gurus are constantly advising us to shop around for a........

© The Sydney Morning Herald