The conventional wisdom says ads will ruin AI assistants i.e. the moment ChatGPT or Gemini turns commercial, trust disappears. But I’m not convinced.

Today I'm sharing part of a recent conversation I had with Mike Shields from Next in Media, where I argued that ads inside LLMs could actually be better than anything we’ve seen before.

But here’s the catch: if AI-powered ads really do work, they could create a serious, under-discussed problem for retail media. We dig into why LLMs may become the most context-rich ad platform ever, how that changes shopper intent data, and what it means for retailers who’ve been betting big on offsite media as their next growth engine.

This episode is sponsored by Mirakl Ads

Timeline

[00:00] Why I’m skeptical of the idea that ads will automatically erode trust in AI assistants

[01:10] What AI ads could look like, and why they won’t resemble traditional sponsored product units

[02:15] Multimodal, hyper-relevant ads: when advertising actually feels helpful

[03:15] The unique level of trust users place in LLMs (and why that matters for monetization)

[05:15] The uncomfortable question: what happens to offsite retail media if LLMs own the intent data?

[08:30] Why LLMs might build offsite ad businesses, and how that could undercut retailers

Links & Resources

Watch my full appearance on Next In Media with Mike Shields
Subscribe to Next In Media
Follow Mike Shields on LinkedIn
Read my related articles:
LinkedIn Live on Thursday Feb 5 at 11am ET with Jordan Witmer (SALT): The Store As Media: Retail Media That's Scalable, Memorable & Worth Buying. Click here to join us!
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