While the retail segment is embracing artificial intelligence, the consumer is still a bit leery and not fully understanding the technology, according to a PointSource study.

Consumers are a bit confused about how chatbots work and so aren't fully embracing the innovation. Yet when AI is in play, 49 percent of shoppers are willing to shop more and 34 percent will spend more money, according to the study, "Finding Common Ground Between Consumers and Artificial Intelligence" which polled 1,000 U.S. consumers.

"Services like recommendations from Amazon and Facebook Ads have done a good job of warming people up to the idea of AI in their everyday lives — normalizing it through seamless digital experiences that ultimately take place beneath the surface without the user realizing it," said Barry Pellas, CTO at PointSource and vice president of technology for the AI Studio, in a press release. "However, this has also created a gap in how consumers understand the technology. Businesses are investing millions of dollars in AI and chatbot technology with the goal of improving the customer experience. But all that effort is useless if the consumer doesn't understand it."