CHEQ vs Ketch

AI Agents Transform Shopping from Circulars to Automated Purchasing

This article explores how AI is reshaping the shopping journey, moving beyond traditional advertising to a future where AI agents act on behalf of consumers. It highlights that 73% of parents plan to use AI in back-to-school shopping, citing a PwC study. The evolution from static ads to predictive, adaptive creative is discussed, with comments from Priti Ohri of Advertible on dynamic creative. The piece also covers conversational AI, referencing Criteo's Prompt Smart Ads, and the transition from assistance to delegation, noting that only 11% of consumers are ready for AI to make purchase decisions. Becky Gundy of CHEQ predicts agents will soon handle purchases end-to-end, emphasizing that advertisers must appeal not only to consumers but also to their AI agents.

• 73% of parents plan to use AI in back-to-school shopping (PwC study, June 2026).
• Only 11% of US consumers are ready to let AI make purchase decisions (Gartner survey).
• Criteo's Prompt Smart Ads use catalog data and prompt-level insights to tailor ad creative.

Ketch Launches Iris Cohort-Based Cookie Scanner

Ketch, an AI privacy company, launched Iris, a patent-pending, cohort-based scanning algorithm designed to replace legacy cookie-scanning approaches. Iris uses AI-driven cohorting and signature-based grouping to cluster pages by observed tracker behavior rather than URL structure, enabling automatic discovery and re-cohorting as new page types or tests appear. The algorithm offers intelligent representative sampling, confirm-and-discover cycles that compound coverage over time, and hop-distance classification to distinguish first-party tags from downstream vendor trackers. Ketch positions Iris as a more stable, defensible approach to scanning that reduces reliance on random sampling and costly exhaustive scans, aimed at privacy and engineering teams managing web trackers and disclosures.

• Ketch unveiled Iris, a patent-pending, cohort-based scanning algorithm to replace legacy cookie scanning approaches.
• Iris applies AI-driven clustering to group pages by tracker behavior and deliver a complete view of cookies and trackers on a digital property.
• The algorithm includes signature-based cohorting, automatic discovery and re-cohorting, intelligent representative sampling, confirm-and-discover cycles, and hop-distance classification.

Ketch earns Privacy & Consent Leader recognition in Snowflake's fifth annual Modern Marketing Data Stack report

Ketch earns recognition at Cannes Lions 2026 as Snowflake's fifth edition spotlights the agentic marketing era, and the permissioned data required to succeed.