Digiday·2026-03-09

How AI could disrupt retail media’s $38 billion search ad market

If OpenAI’s latest moves indicate anything, LLMs are positioning themselves to be the go-to stop for searching and shopping. Between shopping integrations and ad product rollouts, AI chatbots could rattle retail media networks’ hold on sponsored and search ad dollars. As user behavior shifts, so too could retail media’s value proposition. Already, AI has upended traditional search as users increas

If OpenAI’s latest moves indicate anything, LLMs are positioning themselves to be the go-to stop for searching and shopping. Between shopping integrations and ad product rollouts, AI chatbots could rattle retail media networks’ hold on sponsored and search ad dollars. As user behavior shifts, so too could retail media’s value proposition. Already, AI has upended traditional search as users increas