Why Retailers Must Start Advertising in LLMs Now (Retail Media Meets AI Ads)

Today, I'm sharing a portion of a sharp and timely analysis from Deborah Aho Williamson, one of the most trusted voices in digital advertising and platform strategy, on why advertising inside AI-powered platforms is becoming unavoidable for certain industries. The piece is titled Should Your Industry Advertise in AI Media in 2026? from Deborah's wonderful newsletter The AI Ad Economy.Deborah shines a light on ads inside LLMs becoming a front-burner priority, and why retailers are uniquely positioned to benefit from testing AI media now. From consumer AI usage data to search ad spend trends and lower-funnel alignment, what signals matter most, and where advertisers can realistically start experimenting today, this episode runs the run the gamut of important questions sweeping through retail media. This episode is sponsored by Mirakl AdsTimeline[00:00] Why I’m sharing a guest post, and why this one matters so much[01:07] Deborah Aho Williamson’s AI ad research and the industries that should act now[02:47] The three factors that determine whether your industry is ready for AI media[04:17] Why retail stands out: search ad spend, AI usage, and category readiness[05:26] Key consumer behaviors: how shoppers use AI in retail purchase decisions[07:15] The big takeaway, and why Microsoft Copilot is the easiest entry point for LLM adsLinks & ResourcesRead Deborah's article in full - Should Your Industry Advertise in AI Media in 2026?Subscribe to The AI Ads Economy on Substack or on LinkedInFollow Debra Aho Williamson on LinkedInRead my related articles:Ads in AI Are Older Than You ThinkChatGPT Ads Are Here. I'm Not Panicking.The 3 Ways Agentic Commerce Could Destroy Retail MediaJoin me and Jordan Witmer from Salt XC at 11am Thursday Feb 5 (that's today!) for a LinkedIn Live on The Store As Media: Retail Media That's Scalable, Memorable & Worth Buying. We'll be answering questions LIVE -- join us!Subscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletterFollow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn