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AI, Athletes, and Autonomous Commerce: What Marketers Need to Watch Now

Media That Matters, Optimove’s weekly series highlighting essential stories shaping the future of Positionless Marketing

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From AI-powered shopping to athlete-focused betting, marketers are adapting to rapid shifts in consumer behavior and technology. Fans now follow players over teams, brands are turning to AI for personalization, and platforms like Shopify are setting new limits on autonomous purchases. 

  1. Personality-driven sports are shaping the future of betting products 

Scott Longley, IGB, 7/14/2025  

As fans increasingly follow athletes rather than teams, sports betting is evolving to reflect this shift. Player props (betting on individual players) and micro markets are now central to engagement, personalisation and profit. 

Case in point: As recently reported, during Caitlin Clark’s final season at Iowa, betting surged 209% during the Final Four and 309% in the title game. After she joined the WNBA, those numbers rose another 88% and 111%. 

  1. Over half of marketers ‘using AI’ for campaign creative 

Charlotte Rogers, Marketing Week, 7/14/2025  

While some brands debate the role of AI in their marketing plans, others are embracing the possibilities to optimise effectiveness. Marketing Week’s 2025 research shows AI is increasingly used for key CRM functions like audience targeting, content personalization, and campaign optimization. 

Our research with Total Retail shows 94% of retail marketers use AI, but few have unlocked its full power. 

  1. Shopify Adds Guardrails to Control Agentic Purchases 

Nicole Silberstein, Retail Touchpoints, 7/15/2025 

Shopify has added new rules to the millions of merchant websites it powers, requiring that purchases made by agentic AI platforms aren’t completed without a “final human review.” 

This article is a must-read for marketers because it highlights how emerging AI-powered shopping tools are forcing platforms like Shopify to draw new boundaries, signaling major shifts in how brands may need to manage customer journeys, payments, and trust in an increasingly autonomous commerce landscape. 

In Summary

As technology reshapes consumer behavior, marketers who embrace a positionless approach by adapting quickly, acting independently, and using AI to personalize at scale will be best positioned to stay relevant and drive growth. 
Check back next week for another roundup of Media That Matters.  

For more insights on Optimove, contact us.

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Rob Wyse

Rob Wyse is Senior Director of Communications at Optimove. As a communications consultant, he has been influential in changing public opinion and policy to drive market opportunity. Example issues he has worked on include climate change, healthcare reform, homeland security, cloud transformation, AI, and other timely issues.

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