Observed Signal · Jan 31, 2026 · Feature Release · Source: AdExchanger · Impact: 4/5 · Sentiment: Positive
AI Enhances Shopping, But Humans Still Hold the Reins
LiveRamp CEO Scott Howe says agentic AI will change commerce but expects a gradual adoption: consumers will likely use AI to inform decisions rather than hand off unsupervised purchases. The conversation — on AdExchanger Talks — highlights AI’s growing influence in shopping experiences, including the rise of ads inside search chatbots after OpenAI announced plans to add advertising to ChatGPT. The piece notes some LLM providers, such as Perplexity, have stepped back from advertising for now, and discusses potential business uses of LLM-generated behavioral signals combined with CRM data. Howe advises brands to make data “agent-ready,” focus AI on meaningful customer moments (like customer service), and remain mindful of privacy rules. The story was updated after Perplexity’s chief communications officer Jesse Dwyer denied any partnership or imminent alpha program with LiveRamp.
Major-platform product move (OpenAI adding ads to ChatGPT) signals new ad inventory and monetization paths in conversational search and raises data/privacy and identity implications for advertisers and martech providers.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- LiveRamp CEO Scott Howe said agentic AI will change commerce but most consumers are unlikely to let autonomous agents purchase for them without oversight.
- OpenAI announced plans to introduce ads into ChatGPT, increasing attention to advertising in chat-based search experiences.
- Perplexity has paused advertising efforts for now and a Perplexity spokesperson (Jesse Dwyer) denied any partnership or alpha program with LiveRamp.
- Howe recommended making first-party data “agent-ready,” prioritizing privacy compliance, and using AI to improve high-impact customer moments such as customer service.
- The article is based on an episode of AdExchanger Talks featuring Scott Howe and was updated after Perplexity’s clarification.
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Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
LiveRamp Unveils AI Upgrades for Smarter Marketing Solutions
LiveRamp announced new agentic AI capabilities that let specialized AI agents autonomously access and operate within the LiveRamp platform to plan, execute, measure, and optimize marketing campaigns. The release enables customers to license partner agents (Newton Research and SemantIQ are live) to build audiences, run cross-media measurement via LiveRamp’s Cross-Media Intelligence, activate audiences from the LiveRamp Clean Room, and optimize media spend with governed access to premium data. New platform features include AI-powered lookalike modeling across first-, second-, and third-party data and a single identity-powered control group for consistent measurement across channels. LiveRamp says customers will access agents consistent with their internal AI policies and the usage guidelines of underlying AI providers. Quotes in the announcement come from LiveRamp product and partner executives and from marketers and analysts endorsing the approach.
Ads Enter AI Assistants: What Marketers Need
Generative AI is reshaping digital marketing, moving beyond content creation into conversational, agent-driven advertising that can use product catalogues, recommendations and agent-to-agent transactions. Platforms such as Google Ads and OpenAI’s ChatGPT offer AI-driven ad formats and buying options (CPM and CPC), while Amazon’s Alexa for Shopping (Rufus) demonstrates product-feed-driven shopping assistance. Startups like Gravity are reportedly working with retailers (Target, Best Buy) on agent-to-agent advertising. The shift raises practical challenges for marketers around attribution, CPC measurement, product-feed quality, brand safety, and auditability of AI agent decisions. Research (a May 2026 study and a 2026 paper titled “Auditable Agents”) highlights risks from unsupported AI claims and outlines requirements for auditability. The article argues organisations need AI governance, improved product data, and new measurement approaches to participate effectively in AI-led buying journeys.
Agentic AI in Advertising: Progress, But Not Transformative Yet
Karsten Weide of W Media Research provides a measured assessment of agentic AI in advertising, arguing the technology's promise outstrips current production reality. Deployments exist—largely in planning, troubleshooting, and optimization—but fully autonomous buying is rare and typically constrained by human-in-the-loop governance, fragmented data, legacy stacks, and trust issues. PubMatic, Viant, and Yahoo are highlighted as leaders/early adopters; Amazon, Google, and Meta run internal agentic capabilities with tight controls. Startups and vendors are experimenting with agent-led planning and optimization, and products like HUMAN Security’s Agentic Trust aim to increase visibility. Near-term adoption is expected to be gradual, favoring semi-autonomous workflows until governance, interoperability, and clear ROI improve.
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