AI Won’t Shop For You – Yet
Recorded: Jan. 27, 2026, 5 p.m.
| Original | Summarized |
AI Won’t Shop For You – Yet | AdExchanger
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PODCAST: AdExchanger Talks Tuesday, January 27th, 2026 – 9:42 am
But even if most shoppers won’t be surrendering their wallets to autonomous agents anytime soon, AI’s influence on the shopping experience is showing up in other ways – like the growing presence of ads in search chatbots. Perplexity, after seeming to retreat from advertising – or, at least, put its ad ambitions on ice – is preparing to launch an alpha this quarter that will test combining its behavior data with CRM data from advertisers to provide more useful answers. Subscribe AdExchanger Daily Daily Roundup Daily News Roundup “If you can take a moment of despair where the user is having a terrible experience – so often that might be customer service – and enhance it with AI to deliver a better experience,” Howe says, “then, all of a sudden, the customer is much more satisfied.”
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**AI Won’t Shop For You – Yet | AdExchanger Summary** In a recent AdExchanger Talks podcast, LiveRamp CEO Scott Howe offered a nuanced perspective on the evolving role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in commerce and advertising. Howe’s assessment suggests a gradual shift away from a fully automated, agent-driven shopping experience, arguing that consumers are unlikely to immediately relinquish control of their purchasing decisions to autonomous AI agents. Instead, the immediate future involves AI augmenting the consumer’s decision-making process rather than acting as a substitute for human agency. Despite this cautious outlook, Howe highlighted the already significant impact of AI on the shopping experience, particularly in the burgeoning area of conversational commerce. The recent introduction of advertising within OpenAI’s ChatGPT platform, alongside experimental implementations by companies like Perplexity, demonstrate AI’s growing presence in search and information retrieval. Perplexity’s planned partnership with LiveRamp to combine behavioral data with CRM information represents a key step towards more relevant and contextually useful chatbot responses, a critical factor in fostering a positive user experience that doesn’t feel intrusive. Howe advised a strategic approach, advocating for focusing on “moments that really matter” rather than attempting overly broad interventions – a sentiment reflecting a pragmatic understanding of AI’s potential. Furthermore, Howe emphasized the need for “agent-ready” data, indicating a shift towards systems designed to seamlessly integrate with AI-powered applications. This perspective is vital as AI continues to evolve, demanding sophisticated datasets capable of providing actionable insights. Looking ahead, the conversation shifts to a broader industry awareness of AI’s impact. Experts are already discerning genuine use cases from the surrounding hype. The conversation also touched upon key industry developments, including the implications of Microsoft’s planned shutdown of the Xandr DSP and the impact on video ad delivery, and the emergence of Amazon’s Prebid adapter as a step toward greater programmatic ecosystem collaboration. Finally, the discussion acknowledged the ongoing strategic considerations related to data privacy and the importance of aligning with evolving regulatory standards. Ultimately, Scott Howe’s insights indicate a deliberate and measured approach to AI implementation within advertising, characterized by a focus on enhancing, not replacing, human decision-making. |