AI Shopping Agents Raise Questions About Money and Data

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

C1. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Single choice

How to approach this practice

Read the passage for its main idea, then return to the relevant sentence or paragraph for each question. Base answers on the passage.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which concern best captures the article’s central focus?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Whether software can make shopping faster than human shoppers
   2. How much authority shoppers should grant AI agents
   3. Why companies should stop developing online shopping tools
   4. Whether personal data has any value in purchasing decisions
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   How much authority shoppers should grant AI agents

   The article weighs convenience against authority over money and data.

   The proposal shifts some shopping tasks from people to software, raising a question that reaches beyond convenience: how much authority should an AI agent have when a transaction involves someone’s money and data?

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does “that distinction” refer to in the fourth paragraph?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. The difference between purchases and sensitive personal information
   2. The difference between user intentions and software requests
   3. The range from suggesting options to taking action
   4. The distinction between companies and their consumers
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The range from suggesting options to taking action

   It points to the range of roles grouped under “AI shopping.”

   That distinction matters because “AI shopping” can describe a range of roles, from offering suggestions to taking action.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What can be inferred about the article’s treatment of safeguards?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. It confirms companies already provide effective safeguards.
   2. It presents safeguards as a concern without establishing current protections.
   3. It argues safeguards are unnecessary for routine shopping.
   4. It identifies specific controls used by leading products.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It presents safeguards as a concern without establishing current protections.

   The text raises safeguards as a concern but supplies no product-specific evidence.

   The available account raises these concerns but does not specify how any particular product works or what safeguards companies offer.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the article contrast comparing options with entrusting a transaction?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To illustrate that different roles involve different stakes
   2. To argue that comparison tools are always accurate
   3. To show that all shopping agents require financial access
   4. To suggest users should avoid any automated assistance
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To illustrate that different roles involve different stakes

   The examples show how trust requirements rise with responsibility.

   A tool that helps compare options raises a different level of trust than one entrusted with a transaction or personal information.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What is the article’s overall stance toward AI shopping?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Unreservedly enthusiastic about transferring shopping decisions
   2. Dismissive of potential benefits from automation
   3. Cautious, focusing on understandable roles and proportionate trust
   4. Certain that adoption will fail because consumers reject AI
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Cautious, focusing on understandable roles and proportionate trust

   It recognizes potential convenience while emphasizing informed, appropriate delegation.

   For consumers, the central issue is therefore not simply whether AI can participate in shopping, but whether its role is understandable and appropriate for the stakes.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which relationship between convenience and trust does the article establish?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Convenience removes the need to assess financial consequences.
   2. Convenience may appeal to users without answering whether trust is warranted.
   3. Trust is necessary only when shopping becomes inconvenient.
   4. Financial consequences make convenient tools inherently unsafe.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Convenience may appeal to users without answering whether trust is warranted.

   Convenience may motivate use, but it cannot resolve trust questions.

   Yet convenience does not settle whether a system should be trusted with decisions that have financial consequences.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   How is the article primarily organized?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. It compares competing products before recommending one.
   2. It defines the technology, examines trust concerns, then considers appropriate delegation.
   3. It narrates a shopper’s experience and draws a general rule.
   4. It lists safeguards in order of their effectiveness.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It defines the technology, examines trust concerns, then considers appropriate delegation.

   It moves from the proposal to risks, delegation, and consumer judgment.

   Trust has several dimensions.

What to review next

Find the words that support each answer. For a mistake, compare the question with the evidence and identify the detail or inference you missed.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.

Before you practise: a worked example

Look for evidence in the text. Separate what the writer says from what you already know about the topic.

The library normally closes at six, but on Fridays it stays open until eight. When does it close on Friday?

The answer is eight. But introduces an exception to the normal closing time, so the first time mentioned is not the answer.

This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.