The AI Revolution in Retail Media: Shaping the Next Era of Consumer Engagement and Commerce

Artificial intelligence is changing how consumers discover, evaluate, and buy, and how retailers and brands engage them along the way. Recommendation engines, predictive targeting and automated campaign management are already part of daily practice in Retail & Commerce Media. At the same time, AI assistants and shopping agents are beginning to search, compare and select on behalf of consumers, which puts the familiar path to purchase of search results, product pages and sponsored placements up for renegotiation.

This panel asks what the next era of consumer engagement means for the people who build and buy retail media. Retail Media Networks have grown on owned touchpoints and first-party data. When an AI interface writes the shortlist, visibility inside that recommendation becomes the new shelf space, and the commercial rules for it are still being written. Panelists will share where AI already delivers measurable value today, where its limits are, and how sponsored visibility can work in conversational and agentic environments.

The session also takes on the harder questions. What happens to measurement when clicks and impressions lose their meaning? How does power shift between platforms, retailers, brands, and agencies? And which data foundations and transparency standards does the industry need so that advertising in AI-driven journeys stays accountable and trusted?