What should happen when an AI shopping agent fails at checkout?
Keep the cart intact, explain what failed, and hand control back to the shopper. A failed agent action should not force the customer to start over.
Set the failure rule before launch
Write down the timeout, fallback, and owner. Test the normal path and one real failure. If the customer cannot keep shopping when a dependency breaks, the fallback is not finished.
Bottom line
Keep the cart intact, explain what failed, and hand control back to the shopper. A failed agent action should not force the customer to start over.
Source: https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/error-suggestion.html. Reviewed Sep 22, 2026.