The Back Channel: AI Is Replacing Devs (But Banned At Retailer X), Freudian Analysis Of Offsite Vs Onsite Retail Media

Today's episode is a new format: "The Back Channel" where I share anonymized insights from my recent conversations with industry leaders in retail media. I discuss how AI is transforming software development, the surprising order in which retailers adopt different types of retail media, and my observations on the industry's current state of AI implementation.Custom Software Built with AIThe software CEO who built their latest feature entirely with AI, without developer codingThe potential future of custom software at company or even user levelContrast with a major US retailer that doesn't allow employees to access ChatGPT!Retailers and AI ImplementationFindings from Salesforce's Connected Shoppers ReportThe surprising statistic that 40% of retailers claim to have "fully implemented AI"The reality gap between retailers' perception and true AI implementationWhy individuals should proactively learn about AI outside their organizationsOffsite Retail MediaOffsite retail media represents about 10% of ad volume compared to onsite but is set to growContrary to (my) assumptions, offsite is often the first type of retail media that retailers executeHow a retailer's initial approach (offsite vs onsite) can shape their retail media network's focus