4 AI Shopping Agents Tested Against Dark Patterns: Big Models Mostly Pass
Its_about-tech · reddit · 2026-10-22
A Reddit user built a test shop with 8 products and 7 real-world dark patterns — pricier duplicate listings, pre-ticked add-ons, upgraded shipping, bundle upsells, sponsored picks, optional data boxes, and fake urgency — then tasked AI shopping agents with buying decent wireless earbuds under $80 at the best price, with automated scoring:
- ChatGPT: A+ (100)
- Opus 5.5 (via Buddy, Claude Code on an Android phone): A+ (100)
- Sonnet 5.5 (via Buddy): A+ (100)
- Haiku 5.5 (via Buddy): A (95) — its only slip was leaving the pre-ticked marketing emails box checked
Takeaway: basic dark patterns no longer fool frontier models. Round 2 will add subtler traps designed to talk agents into worse choices.
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