AI is no longer asking for a seat at the commerce table. It is redesigning the t
By Ethelbertwilliams · September 15, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
AI is no longer asking for a seat at the commerce table. It is redesigning the table and entire rooms.
The signals are difficult for executives to ignore.
Amazon Ads is moving into ChatGPT. AI shopping agents are getting closer to transactions. Answer engines are changing how brands enter consideration. Amazon Accelerate and Groceryshop will bring these conversations together next week.
Executives don’t need another list of AI technologies to test. We need an upgraded operating agenda for 2027.
Make AI visibility a growth KPI. Consumers are increasingly asking instead of searching. Being found isn’t enough. Brands need to know whether AI can accurately represent, trust and recommend them.
The insights driven with Andrew Yan and Pete Blackshaw reinforce this. AI visibility, authority and brand reputation are becoming part of the growth equation.
Turn product content into product intelligence. Attributes, claims, imagery, availability and reviews aren’t ecommerce hygiene. They’re inputs machines use to understand your product and whether it deserves consideration.
Move retail media from efficiency to enterprise growth. My friend Liran Hirschkorn consistently pushes this conversation on Amazon. He’ll be leading conversations at Accelerate next week.
Optimizing a metric isn’t the same as optimizing the business.
Prepare for the shopper to become an agent. When software can interpret intent, compare choices and execute a purchase, we’re changing who does the work between intent and transaction.
Redesign marketing operations around agents too. AI should change how teams plan, create, optimize, measure and decide.
And build organizational capability now.
This is a discussion I’ve been having with Shane Taylor of Version2. Technology deploys quickly. Changing workflows, decision rights, capabilities and behaviors is harder.
AI transformation will ultimately be won or lost in the operating model, not the technology stack.
Most importantly, stop managing AI, commerce, media and transformation as separate agendas.
They are becoming one growth agenda.
That’s why I’m driving this conversation through The Next Basket.
Having operated through waves of ecommerce, marketplaces, DTC, retail media and performance marketing, I’ve learned that companies that win transitions aren’t simply the earliest adopters.
They’re the earliest to redesign how they operate around new consumer behavior.
As executives shape 2027 priorities, the mandate is clear.
Build for consumers who ask instead of search.
Build for agents that influence choice.
Build product intelligence machines can understand.
Measure enterprise value, not activity.
Redesign work around AI.
Build organizations capable of changing as quickly as consumers do.
Those are the conversations shaping for Amazon Accelerate and Groceryshop next week.
That’s The Next Basket.