AI Is Quietly Rewriting Retail Media: What Happens When Shoppers Stop Searching?

Sometimes I feel like the town crier waving a bell about AI and retail media, proclaiming "the end is nigh!", but there's a reason I keep humming the same tune. AI-enabled shopping isn’t a future problem. It’s already reshaping how consumers discover, research, and decide what to buy,  yet much of the retail media industry is still eerily quiet about it.In this episode, I react to telling statements made by Sam Khoury, Chief Strategy Officer at Marketecture, who recently appeared on the ADSN podcast. What happens when shoppers move their intent upstream — away from retailer-owned surfaces and into LLMs like ChatGPT? If retail media was built on upper-funnel signals, what happens when those signals disappear? Sam shares insights that every retailer, brand, and retail media leader needs to be paying attention to right now.This episode is sponsored by Mirakl AdsTimeline[00:00] Why AI is the “silent concern” no one in retail media wants to talk about[01:09] Sam Khoury on why hiding from AI-driven consumer behavior won’t work[02:30] The data point retailers can’t ignore: AI referrals and in-store LLM usage are surging[03:20] How AI tools are replacing Google as the starting point for research and discovery[04:33] The real retail media risk: losing upper-funnel signals, surfaces, and measurement[07:36] Why this shift may be bigger than mobile, and what early recognition enablesLinks & ResourcesListen to the full ADSN interview with Sam Khoury - Sam Khoury on B2B Creator Businesses, Netflix+WB4EVA, the $1B Digital Twin, and Meta the Energy CompanySubscribe to the ADSN podcast, hosted by James Borow and Daniel DrugerFollow Sam Khoury on LinkedInSubscribe to MarketectureRead my related articles:The Secret Hopes & Dreams of RMN LeadersWhy RMNs Keep Their Tech Stacks SecretCostco: The Retail Media Network That Refuses to Promote ItselfAtlanta-based retail media professionals: Wednesday, February 25 is the next In-Person Atlanta Happy Hour! RSVP here.Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletterFollow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn