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From Discovery to Checkout: AI’s Expanding Role in Retail
This week’s stories offer a look at how AI is reshaping shopping from two angles. One examines how industry leaders expect AI to redefine discovery, personalization, and decision-making in the year ahead. The other shows how shoppers are already using AI in everyday ways to research, compare prices, and find better deals, often without realizing it. Together, they capture both where retail is heading and how quickly consumer behavior is changing in real time.
eMarketer, Chris Wood, 12/16/2025
As consumers grow more comfortable using AI, retail leaders see 2026 as a turning point in how people discover, evaluate, and purchase products. According to eMarketer, generative AI is becoming a common part of the consideration phase, with shoppers increasingly turning to tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and retailer-embedded assistants to research products and get recommendations. Nearly half of consumers say they have already used or plan to use AI for holiday shopping, while usage among younger audiences continues to rise. Industry executives note that agentic AI is beginning to reshape the front end of shopping, particularly in discovery and decision-making, as consumers move away from keyword searches toward more contextual, conversational prompts.
The article also highlights how AI is deepening personalization across ecommerce and social platforms. Companies like Amazon and Pinterest are expanding assistants that help shoppers navigate more specific, taste-driven queries, while retailers explore branded tools designed to streamline the entire journey from discovery to checkout. New features such as Amazon’s “Auto Buy” and Pinterest’s conversational search are opening more of the customer journey to AI-driven interactions. Industry leaders predict these experiences will become increasingly seamless and automated, with security and consent playing a critical role as AI takes on a more active role in shopping workflows.
Betty Lin-Fisher, USA TODAY, 12/16/2025
More shoppers are relying on AI this holiday season, often without actively seeking it out. USA Today reports that AI tools are increasingly embedded into how consumers search for gifts, compare prices, and find deals, functioning as an invisible layer across the shopping journey. Survey data shows that a majority of shoppers have used or plan to use AI this season, with many finding it more helpful than traditional methods like flyers or promotional emails. Rather than replacing retailers, AI is acting as a referral channel, directing shoppers straight to purchase links and accelerating decision-making.
The article highlights deal-seeking as one of AI’s fastest-growing use cases. Consumers are using AI agents to test coupon codes, monitor price changes, and surface relevant offers without manually jumping between tabs. Similarweb data shows sharp growth in traffic to generative AI platforms and a surge in AI-driven referrals to major retailers during peak shopping days. While privacy concerns persist, experts note that many shoppers are prioritizing convenience and savings. As AI becomes more embedded across digital tools, its influence is expanding from tech-savvy early adopters to everyday, price-conscious consumers.
AI is no longer a future concept in retail. As consumers adopt it in practical ways and brands expand its role across the shopping journey, the line between experimentation and everyday use is fading. The retailers that win will be the ones that understand how AI is influencing decisions today and prepare for how it will shape shopping tomorrow.
Check back next week for another roundup of Media That Matters.
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Why 2026 Will Be the Year AI Meets Its Limits — and Its Potential
This week’s stories reveal how rapidly AI is reshaping the core mechanics of marketing and customer experience. New martech trends point to a 2026 defined by real-time systems, more adaptive workflows, and rising expectations for AI to play a strategic role in daily execution. At the same time, industry leaders warn that progress will stall unless organizations address the data foundations that AI depends on. Taken together, these signals show a market shifting from AI experimentation to the deeper operational work needed to make it truly effective.
Scott Clark, CMSWire, 12/2/2025
Marketing leaders are entering 2026 with a martech landscape that is rapidly reshaping itself around AI. According to CMSWire, the year ahead will be defined by tools that enable faster experimentation, more responsive customer journeys, and a shift from batch processing to real-time decision-making. The article notes that organizations are beginning to operate in two modes at once: a Laboratory where teams test new ideas quickly and a Factory where proven tactics can scale with consistency. AI agents are becoming more capable in both settings, prompting new conversations about governance, reliability, and how human oversight should evolve.
The story also highlights the growing importance of Marketing Ops as the connective tissue across data, AI, and execution. As martech stacks modernize, legacy systems are being replaced with pipelines that support instant activation and more automated workflows. These changes reflect a broader push for agility as marketers prepare for more complex customer expectations and faster competitive cycles. The result is a marketing environment where adaptability is becoming a core requirement and AI is taking on a more foundational role in how teams plan, build, and deliver campaigns.
Francesca Roche, CX Today, 12/8/2025
Experts interviewed for CX Today’s 2025 Trends series agree that 2026 will force organizations to confront a problem they have long overlooked: AI is only as strong as the data beneath it. Leaders from Amperity, Constellation Research, Zoho, TechTelligence, and Actionary describe a landscape where enthusiasm for AI has collided with years of fragmented systems, scattered customer information, and cultural resistance to operational change. Customer data platforms are expected to evolve from passive storage systems into active engines of intelligence, while companies grapple with a growing data drought created by AI’s enormous appetite. Analysts warn that most organizations have not prepared their infrastructure, governance processes, or internal workflows for what modern AI requires.
The article also highlights a shift in what will determine AI success. Data readiness and organizational culture are projected to matter more than new features as enterprises try to untangle complex tech stacks and build smoother data layers for decision-making. AI governance is expected to become a top buying criterion, with vendors asked to provide explainable decisions and full accountability for automated actions. Analysts further caution that without a clear orchestration strategy, organizations risk deploying competing AI agents that work at cross purposes and create more chaos than value. The consensus is clear: 2026 will be a pivotal year in which companies stop chasing the newest AI tools and focus instead on the foundational work needed to make those tools effective.
AI is becoming more capable, but its real impact now depends on the foundations supporting it. Marketing and CX teams are entering a phase where progress relies as much on clean data and streamlined systems as on new ideas. As organizations simplify their operations and build for consistency, the ones that stand out will be those that pair AI-driven innovation with the clarity and discipline needed to make it work.
Check back next week for another roundup of Media That Matters.
For more insights on Optimove and our Positionless Marketing Platform, contact us.
This week’s stories reveal how quickly AI is embedding itself into the heartbeat of the holiday shopping season. New tools launched by major retailers promise more intuitive discovery and faster checkout, while early Black Friday data shows that shoppers are actively seeking AI-guided help. Viewed together, these signals point to a moment when AI is no longer an add-on, but a meaningful driver of how consumers navigate crowded product landscapes.
Anne D’Innocenzio, Associated Press, 11/30/2025
Major retailers and tech companies are entering the holiday season with a new wave of AI shopping tools that signal a shift in how consumers discover and buy gifts. Walmart, Amazon, Google, and OpenAI have all upgraded their assistants to move beyond basic search and into true guided shopping, offering personalized suggestions, tracking prices, and even completing purchases through natural conversations. Google’s agent can now call local stores to check inventory, while ChatGPT’s instant checkout feature enables users to buy products directly within the app. Together, these tools are positioning AI as a first stop for holiday shoppers rather than a novelty add-on.
The season is also introducing early signs of autonomous shopping. Amazon’s Rufus can remember preferences and automatically purchase items when prices drop. Google’s AI Mode compiles side-by-side product comparisons and offers a “buy for me” option using Google Pay. Target and Walmart are testing AI-powered gift finders designed to match recipients with the right products based on age, hobbies, or occasions. While adoption is still in its initial stages, the direction is clear: AI is becoming an active participant in the shopping journey, reshaping how people make decisions and how retailers compete for visibility in an increasingly algorithm-driven marketplace.
Sarah Perez, TechCrunch, 12/1/2025
New data shows that Amazon’s AI assistant, Rufus, became an important companion for Black Friday shoppers. Sensor Tower reports that sessions using Rufus were far more likely to lead to a purchase than typical Amazon visits. Conversions in Rufus-assisted sessions doubled compared with the previous month, and day-over-day buying activity rose sharply. Engagement with the chatbot also grew faster than Amazon’s overall site traffic, suggesting that many shoppers preferred guided help while navigating holiday deals.
The trend echoes a growing reliance on AI-driven tools during the season. Adobe Analytics found a substantial increase in visitors arriving at retail sites through AI services, and those users were significantly more likely to complete a purchase. Even as overall visit and download growth lagged behind previous years, interactions with AI tools accelerated. The data confirms that consumers are increasingly turning to conversational assistance to parse options, compare products, and make decisions during high-volume shopping moments.
AI is moving from experiment to everyday utility during the year’s busiest shopping moments. With retailers expanding their capabilities and shoppers embracing them, AI-guided discovery is gaining momentum. The brands that thrive will be those that understand and optimize for these emerging, AI-led pathways.
Check back next week for another roundup of Media That Matters.
For more insights on Optimove and our Positionless Marketing Platform, contact us.
Forrester: Optimove’s Total Economic Impact
The Forrester Total Economic Impact™ Study shows that Optimove’s Positionless Marketing Platform drives an 88% boost in campaign efficiency.
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.
