Growing consumer adoption of AI tools is positioning AI platforms as an alternative shopping channel—but most AI-driven transactions are still completed on retailer websites.

Meta is tightening teen safeguards for its AI companions in a move that could help make future chatbot ads more viable.

A 4% fee puts pressure on merchants and could shift momentum to rivals like Google and Microsoft.

The traditional marketing funnel model faces unprecedented disruption with generative AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT and Perplexity now bypassing traditional discovery channels, while younger consumers increasingly treat TikTok and Instagram as search engines.

Heavy consumer AI health use raises pressure on OpenAI and peers to tighten safeguards fast.

Amazon bets on AI health guidance paired with doctor access—something ChatGPT and Claude don’t offer.

Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol promises a common standard for agentic commerce. But AI-driven checkout will remain small for the foreseeable future, keeping the focus on how AI influences discovery rather than where transactions are completed.

ChatGPT will begin testing ads, but while its massive userbase positions the platform to deliver ads to engaged audiences, brands must weigh the risks.

This FAQ addresses what marketers need to know about AI chatbots as adoption increases in 2026.

In the crowded clinical market, trusted data, accuracy, and speed will shape adoption.

Nearly 6 in 10 US teens (59%) say they've used ChatGPT, more than double Gemini's 23%, according to an October survey from Pew Research Center.

"Retailers are reinventing the ways that they connect with their customers in real life," said our analyst Blake Droesch during a recent “Behind the Numbers” episode. "The D2C revolution that we saw play out online has now really reached its limitations, giving way to a disconnection between brands and their customers."

As genAI assistants play a more prominent role in shopping, retailers and brands will have to rethink how their loyalty programs support direct consumer relationships, and how loyalty benefits can be surfaced in AI conversations.

AI search advertising is growing, but lingering problems mean overindexing risks wasted spend before ad formats mature.

Its new ChatGPT for Healthcare aims to win over physicians and health systems with HIPAA-safe, evidence-based tools.

Opt-in discoverability could lock in younger, AI-curious shoppers early.

Our analysts (or “bakers”) compete in a Great British Bake Off–style episode, discussing why Google may overtake OpenAI in 2026 and how the AI boom could get a reality check this year. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, along with Principal Analyst Nate Elliot and Analyst Jacob Bourne. Listen everywhere, and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

AI platforms must tread carefully to avoid crossing into diagnosis and treatment advice