AI, bots, and the battle for trust: What merchants must rethink about fraud

AI helps us detect anomalies in real time, model risk behavior, and reduce the need for manual reviews. It also enables fraudsters to create synthetic identities, deploy adaptive bots, and exploit weak signals in transaction flows.

Andy captured the pace of change perfectly:

“Fast forward 12 months and literally every single speaker was talking about AI: what it’s already doing, how fast it’s developing. And it was scary, to be honest. But the big takeaway I took from that was the linkage between departments—fraud, payments, cyber, even marketing—all needing to be aligned.”

That alignment is where the real test lies.

Traditionally, bots were synonymous with fraud. Card testing, credential stuffing, click abuse. But that’s no longer the whole picture.

“Historically, we would have said block all bots. But now that line is blurred,” Andy explained. “You need to let some bots in—price comparison, design tools—while blocking the malicious ones. That requires much closer alignment with cyber and marketing.”

This shift reframes bots not just as a threat, but as a potential enabler of customer experience and competitive positioning.

At ACI, we recognize that pure AI, without diverse data, can lead to false declines. Intelligent data is what drives intelligent decisions. Andy reinforced this with a merchant’s lens:

“We know when a customer’s password or email has changed, whether they’re stable or unstable. That almost allows us to positively profile customers and speed up their journey. It’s not about whitelisting blindly; it’s about reducing friction while keeping protection in place.”

That balance between trust and vigilance is what separates merchants who thrive from those who stumble.

Governance isn’t a buzzword. It’s the scaffolding that holds trust and security together.

“By having really strong governance, we’re able to have clear and consistent conversations across the business and with suppliers,” Andy said. “Once you start doing more of it, it just becomes easier, and the stats prove it’s working.”

Consistency builds confidence, both internally and externally.

AI is not just changing how fraud works. It’s changing how teams work.

“AI gives us a massive opportunity to let the tech do the heavy lifting,” Andy concluded. “If I can free up my team’s time from day-to-day tasks, they can focus on the future: how do we get better, how do we grow, how do we refine? That’s a smarter way to work.”

That’s the opportunity in front of us: to use AI not as a crutch, but as a catalyst. To validate intent, not just identity. To build governance that scales with innovation, and to keep trust at the center of every decision.

Fraud costs billions in lost revenue and consumer trust. Don’t let advanced fraud tactics leave you vulnerable, especially during peak sale seasons. Use AI to your advantage by automating false flags while minimizing false positives, freeing up your team to scale key strategies without impacting consumer experiences.