'Nobody Wakes Up Wanting To Chat With A Retailer'

We've spent the last year watching retailers race to launch AI shopping assistants, but I think we're asking the wrong question. Instead of obsessing over who has the smartest chatbot, we should be asking: What job are shoppers actually hiring these AI assistants to do?In this episode, I unpack insights from a fascinating recent conversation on Jason Del Rey's newsletter The Aisle with former Amazon and Walmart product leader Mukesh Jain, explore why "nobody wakes up wanting to chat with a retailer," and explain why the future of AI shopping may have far less to do with conversation than we think. Along the way, I revisit one of my own predictions about retailer AI, and explain why recent research has changed my perspective.This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoopTimeline00:00 – Why Clayton Christensen's "Jobs to Be Done" framework is still the best way to think about AI shopping assistants.02:15 – The three distinct shopping jobs AI needs to solve, and why chatbots aren't the answer for every one of them.03:32 – The quote that changed how I think about retailer AI: "Nobody wakes up wanting to chat with a retailer."06:00 – Will ChatGPT and Gemini win shopping discovery, or can retailers build assistants shoppers actually return to?08:28 – Why I changed my mind about Amazon Rufus, and what Kantar's latest research revealed about what consumers really value.10:00 – My biggest takeaway: today's retail AI chatbots are just the beginning, not the finished product.Links & ResourcesCheck out Jason Del Rey's interview with Mukesh Jain on The Aisle. Follow Mukesh Jain, Co-founder, SignalAI, on LinkedInSubscribe to The AisleRead Wave 1 of Kantar's AI-Enabled Commerce PulseSubscribe to Watson Weekly on Apple PodcastsFollow Rick Watson, Founder, RMW Commerce, on LinkedInFollow Holden Bale, Global Chief Strategy Officer at Merkle, on LinkedInRead my related articles:What it means for retail media when AI chat has only 2 ad slotsThe agentic media buying race has a problem: nobody's asked the buyersAI-Enabled Shopping Hits 74% AdoptionCheck out Basket Case, a project I’m part of with The Drum and QSIC, an irreverent and lively podcast series talking shop: latest episodeI'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclubSubscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletterFollow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn